18K Gold Earrings

An alloy with more gold in it is the softer of two, and that applies to a post as much as to anything else made from it.

In practice a post is a short, straight component that is not flexed in normal wear, so the difference is felt mainly if the earring is knocked sideways while it is in.

The specification worth confirming on any earring meant to be left in is that the post and the fitting are the same solid alloy as the front, not a plated substitute.

A wire is designed to bend a little, and a softer one yields sooner under an accidental force such as a jumper being pulled over the head.

The corresponding advantage is that it is straightened easily, and a jeweller can do it without the risk of cracking that a harder wire would carry.

The habit that prevents most of it is taking earrings out before dressing and undressing, which is where wires are most often caught.

Weight hanging from a piercing is carried all day by a small amount of tissue, so lighter designs are more comfortable to wear continuously.

A larger form also applies more leverage to the fitting that holds it, which is the part of an earring where extra load is least welcome.

Makers work around both by keeping designs compact, hollowing bodies where the shape allows, and putting the interest into colour and surface instead of size.

Yes, and this is routine bench work. A jeweller will support the wire and bring it back to line in stages rather than in one movement.

It is worth having done properly rather than with household pliers, which leave marks in a soft surface and tend to work the metal at a single point.

If a wire has already been bent back several times in the same place, mention that, because repeatedly worked metal behaves differently from fresh metal.

Closely, but a karat figure describes gold content rather than an exact shade, and workshops balance the remaining metals slightly differently.

Finish accounts for more of any visible difference than the alloy does, so a bright polish beside a satin surface will look less alike than two yellows do.

Comparing the two in daylight rather than under shop lighting is the quickest way to know, and it takes a moment.

A quick look whenever the pair is cleaned is enough for most people: check that a back still grips, that a hinge closes positively and that a wire sits in line.

The signal to act is a change rather than a state. A fitting that has started to feel stiff, loose or differently shaped is worth attention before it is worn again.

Adjustments of this kind are small jobs that a bench does in minutes, and having one done at the first sign of a change is a great deal easier than replacing a lost earring.

Fineness is commonly expressed as parts per thousand in markets where this karat is the norm, rather than as a karat number.

Dimensions in those markets are quoted in millimetres as a matter of course, which is also how the listings here state them, so the two systems compare directly without any conversion.

Marking practice varies between countries, so if a particular mark on a particular piece matters to you, ask about that piece rather than assuming one system applies.

It matters chiefly because the fitting cannot be inspected in the way a bracelet clasp can, so the specification is doing the work unseen.

For a pair intended to stay in, a solid alloy throughout, including the post and the back, is the thing to confirm on the listing.

Even a pair intended to stay in benefits from being taken out occasionally, so that the fitting can be cleaned properly and the back can be checked for grip while it is in the hand.

A drop swings, and swinging applies a small force over and over again at the joint where the drop meets the fitting, which is a quite different loading from the one a stud experiences.

The joint rather than the drop is where that shows, which is why the connecting link on a drop design is worth a look when the pair is cleaned.

Designs that carry their weight close to the ear put less leverage through that joint than long ones do, which is why compact drops tend to need attention less often over a long life.

A stud or a small close-fitting design is the usual answer, because it has little mass, applies little leverage and can be left in comfortably.

Beyond that the choice is about what gets worn. A format the wearer already reaches for will be worn; an unfamiliar one often is not.

Each listing gives the format, the fitting type and the dimensions, which together describe the piece more usefully than a photograph does.