Nobody writes about earrings, and that is a shame. This blog covers rings, gold and stones. Almost never ears. Yet a pair of lab grown diamond earrings is often the first serious piece of jewellery someone buys for themselves. It is also, for a very concrete reason, the piece that ages best. Here is how to choose, and why the advice is not the same as for a ring.

Why earrings last longer than rings

Let us start with the most useful thing in this article.

A ring rubs. All day long. Against a keyboard, a steering wheel, a bag, a door handle, the other hand. It is the most abused piece of jewellery on the human body.

An earring rubs against nothing. It hangs in mid air. At worst it brushes a jumper collar or a lock of hair. It takes neither impact nor abrasion.

That has a direct consequence on the choice of metal. On a ring, gold plating always wears through at the contact points. On the ears it lasts far longer, because there is no contact. This is the one jewellery category where we say plainly that vermeil is an excellent buy, not a compromise.

It also means that, for the same budget, you can aim for a better stone on the ears than on the hand. That piece of advice makes us sell cheaper pieces. It is still true.

Studs, hoops or drops: what each shape changes

Three families, three uses. They do not replace one another.

The stud. One diamond, one post, one back. It is the most discreet piece of jewellery there is. You put it on in the morning, you forget it, you sleep in it. It goes everywhere: the office, the gym, hospital, a plane. If you only ever buy one pair, buy lab diamond stud earrings.

The hoop. A ring of metal. It reads from the front and from the side, which a stud does not. It brings movement. A small hoop stays wearable every day. Past a certain diameter it becomes an evening piece and catches on clothes.

The drop. It moves and pulls the eye down towards the neck. It is the dressiest of the three, and the least everyday. It also asks for a lobe in good condition, because it pulls on it constantly.

A simple rule to decide. Ask yourself how many times a week you will actually wear the piece. Four times or more, that is a stud or a small hoop. Once a month, that is a drop.

What size lab-grown diamond to choose for an ear

This is the question everyone asks, and the answer on competing sites is almost always a carat chart. That chart is not much help, for two reasons.

First, an ear is not a finger. On a hand, a stone is looked at from thirty centimetres. On the ears it is looked at from a metre or more, at three quarters, often half hidden by hair. A smaller stone therefore reads as more discreet than you would imagine.

Second, the result depends on the lobe. A small lobe makes a large stud look out of proportion and tips it forward. A generous lobe swallows a small stone.

The right method is physical, not theoretical. Hold the stone against your lobe and look at yourself in a mirror from a metre away, not from twenty centimetres. You will see straight away whether it holds its place.

One useful marker all the same: a pair of studs contains two stones. For the same budget, each stone in a pair is therefore smaller than the single stone of a solitaire. That is not a flaw, it is arithmetic. And two medium stones sparkle more than one, because they send light back from two points.

If cut shapes interest you, our guide to the different shapes and cuts of diamonds covers what each one does with light.

925 silver, vermeil or recycled 18 carat gold on the ears

Our pieces exist in all three. Here is how we actually advise.

925 silver. The best entry price. Its known drawback is that it tarnishes: it darkens on contact with air and perspiration. On the ears this happens more slowly than on the wrist, but it does happen. A silver polishing cloth sorts it out in two minutes.

Vermeil. 925 silver covered with a layer of gold. The ears are where it gives its best value for money, because nothing rubs the plating. The layer lasts several years as long as you keep it away from perfume and hairspray. Our comparison of vermeil and gold plating explains why the two have nothing in common.

Recycled 18 carat gold. The colour is the material, not a coating: it never leaves. It is also the only one of the three that can be passed down and repaired indefinitely. On the ears its advantage is less decisive than on the hand, since vermeil holds up well there. Choose it for longevity and for passing it on, not because someone told you the rest does not last.

One health point, and it matters more than looks. A pierced lobe is a permanent wound. If you react to costume jewellery, it is almost never the gold or the silver at fault, but the nickel found in cheap alloys. Our buying guide to gold sets out what an alloy actually contains and what to check before you buy.

Earring backs, the subject nobody talks about

Buying guides talk about carats. They never talk about what actually makes people lose earrings. And yet that is the only real risk with this kind of jewellery: you do not break a stud, you lose it.

Three systems exist.

The push back. A small back that slides onto the post. It is the most common and the simplest. It is also the one that slips. A tired push back no longer grips, and the earring drops without you noticing.

The spring back, or reinforced butterfly. Same principle, better hold. A good everyday compromise.

The screw back. The post is threaded and the back screws on. It is the only one that cannot fall off by itself. It is slower to put on, and that is exactly why it is safe.

Three habits that prevent losses. Check your backs with your fingertips once a week. Put your earrings on over a table, never over an open sink. And if you lose a back, replace it straight away, do not borrow the one from another pair.

Brilliant, pear, marquise, Asscher: the shape of the stone

Shape changes more on the ears than on the hand, because the stone is seen from a distance and in movement.

The round brilliant. The most fire, in every direction. It is the safe choice, and the shape that forgives everything: it suits every ear and every face.

The pear. It has a point, so it has a direction. Set point down, it lengthens the lobe and gives a teardrop effect. A little dressier than the round, without being any less wearable.

The marquise. Long and pointed at both ends. It is the shape that gives the most visible surface for a given weight: it looks big. Its drawback is real: the two points are the fragile zones of a diamond and must be properly protected by the setting.

The Asscher. A square step cut with an art deco spirit. It does not twinkle, it reflects in clean planes, like a staircase of light. It is the most architectural of the four, and it gets noticed precisely because it looks like nothing else.

A pair of coloured stones deserves a separate mention. On the ears, a white stone mostly reads as a point of light. A blue, green or pink stone is recognised as a colour even from a distance. If you want your earrings to be noticed, colour works better than volume.

The four most common mistakes

Buying too big for a first pair. People rarely regret a discreet stud. They often regret a stud they only wear three times a year.

Sleeping in drop earrings. A drop pulls on the lobe. Repeated night after night, that movement eventually stretches the piercing. A flat stud, yes. A drop, no.

Putting perfume on after your jewellery. Alcohol and hairspray attack gold plating. The right order is perfume, hair, then jewellery. That holds for all jewellery, and our jewellery care guide covers the detail.

Storing both earrings loose together. Two hard stones rubbing against each other in a pouch means two scratched stones and dulled metal. A compartment box costs less than a repolish.

One last point, for anyone who wants to match. A fine ring works well alongside a pair of studs, provided it does not try to outdo them.

What to remember

Earrings are the least abused piece of jewellery you own. That is their great quality, and it changes the buying advice: you can put a better stone there than anywhere else, and vermeil is a genuine choice rather than a compromise.

Choose the shape by how often you will wear it, the size by looking at yourself from a metre away, the metal by how long you want it to last, and the back by how much you can bear losing a piece. In that order.

Browse our earrings, or tell us about a bespoke project. We also reset family stones into new mounts.

FAQ

What size should lab diamond stud earrings be?

Look at yourself in a mirror from a metre away, not from twenty centimetres. That is the distance at which other people see your ears. Take your lobe into account too: a small lobe copes badly with a large stud, which tips forward.

Are lab grown diamonds real diamonds?

Yes. A lab-grown diamond has the same chemical composition, the same hardness and the same brilliance as a mined diamond. Only its origin differs. Our stones are IGI certified.

Is vermeil good for earrings, or will it wear off?

It is good, and far better than on a ring. Vermeil plating wears through friction, and an earring rubs against nothing. This is the one jewellery category where we recommend vermeil without reservation. Simply keep perfume and hairspray off it.

Studs or hoops for everyday wear?

Studs, if you want the piece you forget about and keep on day and night. Small hoops, if you want something visible in profile. Past a certain diameter a hoop catches on clothes and stops being an everyday piece.

Can you sleep in diamond stud earrings?

With a flat stud on a screw back, yes, plenty of people do it without any trouble. With a drop or a hoop, no: the repeated pull on the lobe eventually deforms the piercing.

Which earring back is the most secure?

The screw back. It threads onto the post and cannot slide off on its own. A standard push back tires over time and stops gripping, and that is the leading cause of a lost earring.

White or coloured diamonds for earrings?

From a distance a white stone reads as a point of light, while a coloured stone is recognised as a colour. If you want your earrings noticed without buying bigger, colour is the most effective lever.

Fiona