Know Your Ear Jewels: 8 Most Popular Types of Earrings

Earrings are one of the most popular forms of jewellery around, worn with pride by women and some men alike. But picking the right earring is about more than just your mood, your outfit, or the event you are going to; they also have to go with your face shape, skin colour, eyes and hair…your choice of what you put in your ears can transform or ruin your look. Earrings vary in length, size, type of fastening, the materials used, so I would suggest you get stuck in because there are plenty to choose from!

Studs

Ear studs have been a familiar, even ubiquitous, sight on people’s faces since the start of the 20th Century. The key feature of this type of jewellery is a precious or semi-precious stone, an enamel or metal design, fixed tightly to the earlobe. The shape can be chosen to suit your personal preference: geometric, conceptual, animals, stars…and if you have already exhausted all the styles on offer, why not trying mixing two studs from different pairs?

Drop Earrings

A fun set of long, shimmering drop earrings can magically transform any woman’s look, elongating the face, lending it femininity, grace and an aristocratic air. Earrings of this type can be long, short, slender or chunky – the main thing is to be sure to pick out the style that suits you best.

Chandelier Earrings

Chandelier earrings differ slightly from drop earrings, and not just in name. Narrow at the point of the earlobe, ballooning out below, it is unsurprisingly their similarity to multi-layered decorative chandeliers that gives them their title. Their large size, relative length and complex design – a sophisticated interweaving of multiple precious stones (or even feathers) – coupled with their striking look, cannot fail to draw attention to any girl’s face. The wow factor means they are usually considered to amount to a full set of evening jewellery in and of themselves, so you need to pick carefully if you want to wear them with other jewellery.

Hoop Earrings

Hoop earrings, also known as Congo earrings, are probably the first earring invented by man. Earrings in this category vary but are all united by their signature shape. You can find all sorts of different looks, with different diameters, materials and styles, from cute miniature ringlets to gigantic hoops that go down to your shoulders for the real socialites. Creole earrings, which come in a half moon shape, are another variety of these earrings.

Cluster Earrings

Cluster earrings are similar to stud earrings in the way they fasten to your ear; they differ on the exterior side in that they feature a number of precious stones in a single enchanting composition. The stones used can vary in shape, size and colour, and they can even include decorative pattern elements or dangling parts.

Ear Jackets

Another style hailing from the world of fashion, the ear jacket is a stud whose main decorative element is worn on the back of the ear, the same side as the fastening. The jacket can be switched to suit your mood or removed altogether, leaving the stud in.

Ear Climbers

These earrings snuck onto the jewellery scene from the fashion world just a couple of years ago and represent the logical continuation of the ear cuff. The quirk of ear climbers is their long design, which makes it look like the earring is climbing up the earlobe, usually no higher than the helix (halfway up the ear). To give them their full name, they are called earclimber earrings.

Cuff Earrings

This is the name for the type of earring which covers the bulk of the ear from the lobe to the top, running up the edge of the ear. They are often combined with earrings but they also come without any hanging attachment, simply worn on their own. Ear cuffs are a fashion accessory which reinvents itself from season to season, which means they come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, covering the whole ear, half the ear or as small rings fixed solely to the top.