14K Gold Earrings

On a solid gold earring the post and the fitting are gold too, rather than a gold front mounted on a plated base-metal post.

It is worth confirming on any pair meant to be worn continuously, because the post is the part that lives inside the piercing and it is where inexpensive earrings most often economise.

Each listing states what the piece is made of. It is not something a photograph can show.

The composition of the alloy the earring is made from: fourteen parts gold in twenty-four, with the remaining ten parts other metals. That is the whole of what a karat figure states.

It does not describe the size of the earring, the thickness of its walls, the kind of fitting or the standard of the work. Those are separate specifications and are given separately on the listing.

Nor does it on its own separate solid gold from gold-filled or gold-plated construction, since a plated piece can carry a karat figure describing only its coating. The material line is what settles that.

A post is drawn as fine wire and has to stay straight through repeated handling, so some makers specify a different mix of alloy metals for it than for the body of the earring.

The karat can be identical while the remainder differs, because a karat figure fixes the gold content and leaves the composition of the other metals open.

On many designs the post is simply the same alloy as the front. The listing states what the piece is made of, and that is where to check it.

Earrings are conventionally sold as a pair, and where that is the case the measurements and the weight quoted describe the two together unless the listing says otherwise.

Some designs are sold as a single earring by intention - pieces made for a second or third piercing, and styles worn deliberately unmatched.

The listing is where this is settled, since a single and a pair of the same design look identical in a photograph. It is worth reading before ordering.

Not usually, and weight depends on the design far more than on whether the piece is solid gold. A small solid stud weighs very little.

What drives the weight is how much metal is present - the diameter of the piece, the gauge of the tube or wire, and whether the body is solid or hollow. Two hoops of the same diameter can differ substantially in mass on those grounds alone.

Hollow and tube-built constructions achieve real visual scale at a fraction of the weight, which is worth looking for in a larger design meant for regular wear.

It is not a rule, but colour consistency shows more in earrings than anywhere else, because they are seen alongside whatever else is being worn.

Repeating the metal while varying the design usually looks better than matching a set exactly, which can read as staged.

Two-tone and tricolor earrings sidestep the question, since they already contain more than one colour.

White gold is usually finished with rhodium plating, and plating applied at different times and worn for different lengths of time drifts slightly in tone.

So a newer pair can read a little brighter or cooler than an older piece that has been worn for years. Neither is faulty.

A jeweller can re-plate the older piece to bring them back together. Yellow and rose gold have no plating and so do not drift.

A hollow hoop is built from tube rather than from solid wire: the gold forms the outer wall and the centre is empty. From outside it looks the same, and it contains considerably less metal.

It is how a hoop gains diameter without gaining a proportional amount of weight, and it is standard practice in larger designs rather than a shortcut.

The trade-off is in the wall, since a thin-walled tube will dent where a solid body would not. Listings state the construction alongside the diameter and the tube gauge.

Small, light studs are the usual choice. Construction is what is worth checking: a small solid stud contains very little metal, so it is light without needing to be hollow.

Scale matters more than anything else: a small stud sits flat and catches on nothing, which is what a child needs.

Anything with a drop or a hoop is better left until later, since it catches on clothing, hair and play.

Some can. A flat and reasonably broad surface - the face of a disc stud, a wide hoop, a bar drop - gives an engraver something to cut into. A fine wire hoop or a claw-set stone leaves nowhere to work.

Hand engraving removes a small amount of metal, so wall thickness decides what is possible: a hollow tube has less to give than a solid body of the same width.

Whether a particular design will take it is a question for a jeweller with the piece in hand, since it turns on the construction rather than on the karat.