Women's Earrings

What should I know before buying earrings?

Material

• Gold - this ever-popular precious metal is among the highest quality materials available. You can choose from yellow, white and rose gold jewellery. Gold doesn’t cause allergic reactions and is often used for baby earrings.
• Silver - very popular, but watch out for tarnishing. High-quality earrings should be coated with rhodium finish if you want them to preserve their lustre.
• Jewellery metal - the most common and cheapest material, it is actually an alloy of copper and zinc. Its life expectancy is obviously not comparable to that of precious metals and allergy sufferers or people with sensitive skin may suffer some adverse effects, since the metal can act as an irritant.
• Stainless steel - popular and durable. Resembles silver at a first glance but costs less. In most cases, this material is also perfectly suitable for people with sensitive skin.
• Titanium - only rarely used for earrings. The hardest jewellery material, doesn’t cause allergies, and it’s lightweight and durablee.

Stones, pearls, or simple metal?

The earring shape also depends on whether it is incrusted with some sort of a stone. The finest and most expensive, of course, is diamond. Nevertheless, jewellery decorated with the traditional Bohemian garnet, zircon, crystal, pearl or even made of pure metal can look equally elegant and stunning.

Consider the occasion you are buying the earrings for. Formal occasions require elegant jewellery, while earrings for everyday wear can be more festive and the material doesn’t matter as much.

What does the future earrings wearer look like?

Face shape

The face shape plays a key role when choosing earrings. There are four basic face shapes.

• Triangular face - looks good with all earring types. You can even try the more exotic spirals to give your look something special. Avoid geometric shapes - squares, rectangles or triangles.
• Oval face - looks good with almost any earrings. You can experiment with both subtle and bold earring designs. Perhaps the only thing you should avoid are long, oval-shaped earrings that overly emphasise the shape of your face.
• Round face - choose earrings that visually lengthen your face. Long dangle earrings of any shape are always a good choice. Avoid heavy stud or clip-on earrings and large hoops.
• Angular face - soften your face with smaller earrings. Consider buying pearls, studs and tear-shaped earrings. Definitely avoid heavy, geometrically shaped earrings such as squares, rectangles or triangles.

What else can be a factor?

• Hair type - combine textures. If you have wavy hair, choose smooth, simpler earrings. If you have straight hair, choose bold shapes.
• Hair length - short hairstyles go well with elegant and subtle jewellery, long hair looks good with long, dangle earrings. Really long and bold earrings are suited mainly for special and elaborate hairstyles.
• Hair colour - warm hair tones (yellow blond shades of brown) are complemented nicely by yellow gold; cooler tones (platinum, pale blond) go well with silver, white gold or platinum. Brunettes also look good with rose gold.
• Skin tone - yellow gold is perfect for darker skin; pale-skinned women should choose silver, platinum or white and rose gold.
• Clothes - choose elegant and subtle jewellery for subtly dressed people and bold and unorthodox pieces for fans of bright colours and extravagant designs. If you are buying earrings as a gift, make sure to observe the person to find out her favourite colours beforehand. If you are unsure, choose purely metallic jewellery rather than something colourful.

Are you buying earrings for your significant other and have no idea what she likes? Peek into her jewellery box and take note of what she likes to wear. Don’t stray too far from her taste.