Short answer: a stud sits on the front of your earlobe and is held in place by a separate back on its post. A huggie is a small hoop that sits close around the lobe. A hoop leaves some space between the metal and your lobe. Choose the style for how you will wear it, choose the size by measuring a pair you already own in millimetres, and check which back or closure the listing names. Do all three before you order, because under our return policy pierced earrings cannot be returned once purchased.
If you have lost one earring of a pair, or ordered hoops that turned out smaller or larger than you pictured, you have met these problems: style names overlap, sizes are not standardized, and backs wear. The result can be a single earring left in the box, a pair that does not suit you and cannot be sent back, or sore ears.
Studs, huggies and hoops: how each one sits
| Style | How it stays in | Where it sits | Example from our range |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stud | A post through the piercing, held by a separate back | On the front of the lobe | Sterling silver 7 mm ball studs, push backs |
| Huggie | On the pair linked here, a hinged section that closes into a catch | Close around the lobe | 10K white gold huggie hoops, 15.7 x 13.6 mm, snap lock |
| Hoop | Depends on the design: a hinged post, a latch or a wire | With some space between the metal and the lobe | Gold hinged hoops in sizes from 8 mm to 20 mm |
Think about where your earrings will meet a phone, a pillow or long hair. Jewelers Mutual, a jewelry insurer, lists among the drawbacks of push backs that they “May snag on an item of clothing or piece of hair or poke ears when lying down or sleeping”.
Sizing in millimetres
We found no industry standard for where a huggie ends and a hoop begins. Two retailer size guides we read put the huggie range in slightly different places, so the name tells you how an earring sits and the measurement tells you its size.
One retailer’s size guide suggests the easiest route: “measure a hoop or huggie you already own and decide whether you want the same size, bigger, or smaller.” It measures diameter “from one inner edge straight across to the other, not including the thickness of the metal.” Another guide also works from the inside measurement and adds: “Add 0.1-0.2cm to your measurement if the hoop measurement is given by outer diameter.”
- For a huggie, measure from your piercing to the edge of your lobe with a millimetre ruler. The second guide advises: “Always ensure the inner diameter is slightly larger than the distance from your piercing to the edge of your ear.”
- For a hoop, compare the size with a pair you own and like, measured the same way.
- For a stud, check what the size describes. On the studs below it is the ball’s diameter.
The three listings below give sizes in millimetres but do not say whether a hoop is measured inside or outside, and the huggie has two figures, a width and a length. If a millimetre or two matters to you, ask us before you order.
Backs and closures
Some earring backs come off the post, such as push, screw and locking backs. Others, such as lever, latch and omega backs, are, in the words of the jewelry insurer Jewelers Mutual, “part of the earring itself”. Jewelers Mutual says the types offer “different levels of security, comfort, and ease of use”; we cite it for its descriptions, not as a recommendation.
- Push backs (also called friction or butterfly backs) have, in Jewelers Mutual’s description, “two curled up, butterfly-shaped wings that grip the post in place using friction.” It lists them as providing less security than other backs and says they “can lose grip with prolonged use”.
- Screw backs are what Jewelers Mutual suggests if you are looking for “a back that offers more security than a push back or bullet back”. They work only on threaded posts, and among their drawbacks it lists that they “Can be a hassle to get them on and off” and “May need to replace when threads wear down”.
- Locking backs (La Pousette) are, by the same source, “Less likely to loosen over time or slide off if the earring is pulled”, but they “May be hard to handle if you have arthritis or any other condition that makes it hard to pinch the tabs on the side of the disc”.
- Hinged and snap-lock closures on huggies and hoops are part of the earring. Jewelers Mutual describes latch backs, which it pairs with “hoops and huggies”, as a hinged post that “snaps into a small hole or notched groove, like a latch on a gate”.
Each type trades some ease of handling for hold, or the reverse, and no back guarantees an earring stays in. The earrings linked in this guide use a push back or a hinged closure; none of them has a screw back or a locking back.
Push backs depend on tension. GIA’s bench tip on adjusting earring backs, written by its jewelry manufacturing arts instructors, explains that the post “has notches on it that function as stops”. Loosening the back’s springs makes the catch less distinct, “posing a very real risk of losing the earring”, while tightening them can make the earrings “uncomfortable, even painful” to put on and take off. GIA calls adjusting this tension “a routine service task for the bench jeweler”. If a back slides on too easily, ask a jeweler to adjust or replace it rather than squeezing it yourself. Our care guide includes checking that earring backs still grip the post firmly.
Sensitive ears
The American Academy of Dermatology says that “It’s common for a nickel allergy to develop from wearing jewelry containing nickel”, and that “Earrings, earring backs and watches are some of the biggest culprits”. Among the tips it says dermatologists recommend for people with a nickel allergy is to “only wear jewelry that is nickel-free, hypoallergenic, or made from metals such as surgical-grade stainless steel, 18-, 22-, or 24-karat yellow gold, pure sterling silver, or platinum.”
That list names 18-, 22- and 24-karat yellow gold. It does not name 10K or 14K, the karats of the gold earrings below, or white or rose gold. It also names “pure sterling silver”; the stud below is listed as 925 sterling silver with a rhodium finish, and its listing does not say what the rest of the alloy is. None of the three listings below gives a full alloy breakdown, so we do not call any of them hypoallergenic or nickel-free. Our guide to 10K, 14K and 18K gold explains why karat alone does not answer the nickel question. If you have a known allergy, ask our Concierge what the manufacturer states for the piece you are considering. The AAD advises that if you think you have an allergy, or have a rash that “blisters, becomes infected, or comes and goes,” you should “see a board-certified dermatologist for the proper diagnosis.”
Before you order, and when they arrive
- Read the back or closure named on the listing. If none is named, ask before ordering.
- Compare the size in millimetres with a pair you own, measured the same way. If a listing gives two figures, compare both.
- When the earrings arrive, close each hinge and check that it catches, and slide each back onto its post to check that it grips. Photograph anything that does not.
Our return and refund policy lists four kinds of item that cannot be returned: custom, personalized or engraved pieces; “Pierced earrings — excluded for hygiene reasons, as is standard across the jewelry industry”; final sale items; and gift cards. The policy’s separate section on faulty or incorrect items still applies to your order: “If your order arrives faulty, damaged, or incorrect, contact us within 30 days of delivery with photographs. We will arrange a replacement or full refund at no cost to you, including all shipping. This is in addition to, and does not limit, your statutory consumer rights.”
Earrings at IMPERVORA
- Stud: the Sterling Silver 7 mm Ball Stud Earrings are 925 sterling silver with a rhodium finish and a high polish, listed at 7.00 mm in diameter with push backs.
- Huggie: the 10K White Gold Snuggable Huggie Hoop Earrings are listed at 15.70 mm wide by 13.60 mm long, with a closure listed as “Snap Lock (hinged snap back)”.
- Hoop: the 10K/14K Gold Hinged Hoop Earrings are listed in 14K yellow, white and rose gold and 10K yellow gold, with size options of 8, 10, 12.5, 15, 18 and 20 mm, a hinged closure, and sold as a pair.
The stud and huggie pairs are listed as available to order, with supplier stock confirmed after checkout. Not every size of the hinged hoops is offered in every metal, and the product page lets you select only combinations currently available. IMPERVORA sells the earrings linked above; we chose them as one example of each style.
Next step
Take a pair you like wearing, measure it in millimetres across the inside, note its back or closure, and compare both with the listing before you order. If the listing does not answer your question about size, closure or metal, email Concierge@impervora.com and we will tell you what the listing and supplier information state.
