The newspaper reports are telling! (And by now I might have developed a serious crush on Irene Curzon, Baroness Ravensdale). I think you're probably right about the first pair of girandole earrings being 18th century paste – why didn't she chose to wear them with her Catherine the Great costume? – but I'm not sure if the second pair was not a rather modern 1920's or 30's (paste) re-creation. In any case, its design is surprisingly similar to Hemmerle's recent interpretations of 18th century girandole earrings (not paste, but coral, patinated copper and white gold on the left, rough tourmalines, sapphires, patinated copper and white gold on the right).
I might be mistaken of course, but the two photos you associated with the earrings worn when dressed as Catherine the Great might in fact show the double drop earrings – in both, the image from Getty, but particularly in the newspaper cutting with Captain John Jay Ide the diamond studded hoop from which the drops are suspended seems visible, as do the two drops (my first association was aquamarines).
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