EARRING TYPES:
Find help here with the terminology and
sizes of the many styles of earrings; some of the more popular styles which you
will find in our
extensive Earring Collection
are listed below: click the underlined text to see an example. See also
helpful information to visualize size and
weight of earrings.
- Ball: Earrings that are
ball-shaped. Sizes and composition vary.
- Bar: Rectangular, stationary earrings that may or may not drop
below the earlobes (i.e. do not move like dangle earrings). Length varies.
- Button: Earrings that do not dangle are
sometimes referred to as button earrings, and this term can also refer to the shape of the main stone, pearl or design, being round and somewhat flattened.
- Chandelier: An earring
with a dangle that is suspended from the post (and looks somewhat) like a chandelier.
- Clip-on: Not for pierced ears, these earrings are attached to the
earlobe by means of a hinged clip on the back of the earring.
- Cluster: Cluster earrings are decorative
earrings composed of gemstones and/or beads, glass, and metal, grouped together
in a cluster.
- Creole or Shrimp: An oval-to-round hoop earring broader at the bottom
than at the top, popular since the 1850's.
- Dangle or Drop:
Earrings that fall below the earlobe, usually suspended by a wire or chain from the post.
- Ear Pin (also Ear Trim):
A curved ear-jewelry piece with a wire clip on its back that can be
worn on both pierced and non-pierced ears. For pierced ears, the back
wire is inserted through the pierced ear lobe and the piece is rotated up to
rest in the helix of the ear, with the wire clip behind the ear holding the
pin against the ear. For non-pierced ears, the back wire slides onto the
back of the earlobe, holding the pin against the ear, though in this case the
pin could easily be lost.
- Earring Jacket: See "Earring Jackets" section below for explanation.
- Hinged: Earrings that
spread apart at a bottom hinge and snap into place with a snap closure--see
How to Fix/Adjust a Hinged Earring
if you need help. (see also "Hinged Snap Back" under "Earring Closures" below).
- Hoop: Metal tube earrings formed
in the shape of a circle--charms may be hung from the hoop.
Half-Hoops are C-shaped, half-circle hoop earrings.
- Hooplet or Earring Charm:
A small charm-like decoration with a small loop or central hole, allowing
it to hang from a hoop earring.
- Huggie: An earring (usually
hinged) for a pierced ear in which the setting closely "hugs" the earlobe, hiding
the earring post. Note that the wearer's earlobe size will limit how small the
diameter of the huggie earring can be in order to enable it to fit around the
earlobe.
- J-Hoop: Hoop earring in which the
hoop is elongated into a "J" shape rather than a circular shape.
- Post or Stud: Simple earring design for a pierced ear
usually consisting of a single stone or metal shape which is held to the earlobe
by a single wire post fitting through the piercing and secured with a push-on
clip at the back of the earlobe. These are popular as
Diamond Stud and
Pearl Stud Earrings.
- Threaders:
A long, thin metal (gold or other metal) chain "threads" through the pierced
earlobe, holding the earring in place. Threader earrings are generally
very long dangle earrings, sometimes with several strands, that are held in
place by threaders.
EARRING CLOSURES:
Earrings are attached to
the earlobe in various methods. Listed below are some of the more common ones.
- Continuous Hoop: For hoop earrings.
The earring post slides into the hoop end, which is hollow, for a seamless appearance.
- French Wire:
A curved wire resembling a fish hook passes through the pierced earlobe and
holds the earring in place. It is primarily used with dangle earrings.
- Hinged Snap back: Hinged
earrings that spread open at the hinge. A curved post on the inside of
the earring top snaps into a latch to secure the earring--see
How to Fix/Adjust a Hinged Earring
if you need help.
- Lever back: This style earring has a hook
that goes through the pierced earlobe and is held in place by a hinged lever
that is attached to the back of the earring.
- Omega Back: A hinged, "O" shaped lever
on the back of the earring, near the bottom, which closes over the post to hold
the earring in place.
- Post or Stud, Push-Back Clips:
The single wire that juts out the back of an earring is the post or stud.
The post goes through the pierced earlobe and is held in place by a separate
push-on clip that slides onto the post--these clips are called push-backs, push-back
clips, friction-backs or tension-backs.
- Snap Post: A curved or straight post on
the back of the earring snaps into a "v" shaped latch to secure the earring
to the earlobe.
- Threaders:
A long, thin metal (sterling or gold) chain "threads" through the pierced
earlobe, holding the earring in place. Threader earrings are generally
very long dangle earrings, sometimes with several strands, that are held in
place by threaders.
An
earring jacket is a small piece of diamond ear jewelry with a hole in the center,
through which a stud earring's post is inserted, thus "jacketing" the earring.
The same earring jacket can be worn with different post earrings, just as a blouse
can be worn with different scarves. Likewise, the same post earring can be
worn with different earring jackets. See our selection of
Diamond Earring Jackets.
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Authored by:
Bill Long