THE BIGGEST PROBLEMS WITH DIAMOND STUD EARRINGS!
BUYING DIAMOND STUDS? SEE WHAT YOU SHOULD LOOK FOR HERE FIRST!
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Diamonds studs are literally the GO-TO gift for just about any occasion available: birthdays, anniversaries, graduation, valentine’s day, sweetest day, christmas, new years… You name it, studs always work!
After all, they are the easiest jewelry item to buy. You don’t need to know her size, style, her color choice, her pendant length, birthstone, wrist circumference, anything. It’s diamonds, in her ears, and they are always perfect.
Well almost…
You see, there are problems with diamond stud earrings, things you should know before you buy a pair. Things to watch out for, things to learn, things to make this gift, the ultimate gift of all.
So let’s begin…
1) The carat weight:
Diamond studs are sold by carat weight, but that’s a TOTAL carat weight. Often written as: ctw, tcw, cwt, or something of the sort. It’s a combined weight of both diamonds. So a pair of 1.00 carat diamond studs, only means, they are 50 points a piece (1/2 carat each). And when you start splitting the carat weight up with 2 diamonds, the look and feel gets much much smaller.
2) Quality:
Almost all diamond studs are lower quality. Like I clarity (meaning; eye-visible inclusions). Earrings, as well as pendants and bracelets, are often the lowest clarity group because 1) people don’t scrutinize them like they do an engagement ring… meaning, they don’t get that close. 2) people don’t want to spend that much on higher clarity goods, when they’re just going in their ears. So most studs have visible inclusions. But as long as the inclusions are not huge black spots, then I wouldn’t worry about it much, no one’s going to see them. However, do realize, that if the diamonds are really cloudy and foggy and full of imperfections, it will hinder light, sparkle, and beauty. So cleaner stones, will not only look bigger, but brighter and whiter as well. This is why I generally advise buying SI clarity or higher in diamond studs.
3) Loose backs:
Many manufacturers and jewelers skimp when it comes to earring backs. Often they’ll put on wimpy backs that are very thin, wobbly, and won’t hold your diamonds in your ears. Always opt for a medium-heavy earring back. Something more durable, more secure, and feels tight on the post. I also advise looking into locking earring posts, like these Chrysmela backs at Amazon here.
Lastly…
4) Upgrades:
Upgrading diamond studs sounds simple, but it’s not. For you could trade in your diamond studs for the next biggest carat weight; for example, 1/2 carat total weight (.50) traded in for 5/8 carat total weight (.58), and you would never ever be able to tell you upgraded to a bigger pair (even though your wallet would know). That’s because the carat weight is broken up into two, and when you only go up a couple of points bigger in diamond weight, the difference is NOT VISIBLE TO THE BARE EYE. If you want people to notice you actually upgraded your studs, you’ll have to almost double them in size. Go from .50 carats into 1.00 carats (or close to it). That’s the only way you’ll get your brand new pair of diamonds noticed. Spend the bucks, and enjoy the compliments.
Great places to buy diamond studs:
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Yeah – like I said before! ♀️ I’ve always thought the way stud earrings were sold was kind of a gyp – calling it a “1 cttw” pair of earrings gets you two stones at HALF the size you really think it is! Then, they use much lower clarity stones in them than you might think they should be, because people don’t break out the magnifying glasses or loupes, to be able to see them, like they might with a brand new engagement ring! But still, I want SHINE, and I want SPARKLE! I have no intention of wearing cloudy, yellowish, spotty diamonds that came in at the end of the quality line as jewelry in my ears!
As for the backs, I rarely ever wear the earrings with the backs they come with. They are usually those tinny (yes, “tinny”) tiny, microscopic little things that are so small you can’t even get a grip on them, and the holes and the posts don’t match up to make a secure connection when you attempt to slide them together. I actually prefer the kind that have the metal butterfly clasp enclosed in a significantly larger “wrap” of silicone. They hold together better with the post, they are larger in diameter so they hold up the back of the piece to keep the stone in the front from tipping forward, and are generally just a little more secure. They are also inexpensive, and you can get them by the bunch, so if you accidentally drop or lose one while putting them on, you can afford already to have spares at hand to replace them!
The hard, round, plastic disks that used to be sold to “prop up” heavy earrings worked really well, by sliding them on the post after you put the earring on, then secure them with whatever earring back you decide to use, then it is no longer flopping around and tipping forward.
Another issue I have found is when the posts are too SHORT! Very annoying, and I found that problem even back in “the olden days” when I still had skinny earlobes! Only with truly valuable earrings did I ever take them to a local bench jeweler and have the posts replaced! Then it was not just worth it, but I always requested appropriate earring backs that actually fit the posts.
(Folks – Just never do what I’ve seen other females (and some guys do) and hand them over all gooey from overwear and no cleaning! Nasty stuff! Granted, without a post, that doesn’t happen as often, but the rest of that earring, and the OTHER earring do get that way, if women and guys both, dont clean their earrings AND the holes they wear them in frequently!
Used to be an old trick to replace a missing pierced earring back by taking a wooden pencil✏with most, if not all of the eraser still on it, sawing off the eraser as far down as you can, and using the earring post to poke a hole in the center of the eraser, to create an emergency replacement back! It makes the perfect size. But, who uses wooden pencils✏anymore??♀️
OK – rant over! I had these things in mind already when/as soon as I read your question, so no, I wasnt just playing “copy cat”! Hope all is well with you. and you’re surviving the heat waves! Looking forward to the next post!
Hello. Laughing at the eraser, never heard of that, or thought of that. But I’m sure it was probably more secure than those cheap backs that slip sideways on the post and fall off if you sneeze. :) -DD