diamond earring for a guy

[baby monster]

I'd say go for it if your job environment is not very buttoned up. DH had his left ear pierced since college and has worn a small earring through most of the jobs except for the current one. He doesn't feel it's the right place for a stud earring. I would like to to gift him a small diamond stud to wear on weekends but he's refusing it.

I have chrysmela backs for my studs. They are great.

 

[stracci2000]

My DH wears a .25 diamond stud in his left ear.
He's had his ear pierced since the early 80's.
I told him he needed a diamond, so I found one for him.
It looks great! I think more men should wear jewelry.

 

[smitcompton]

Hi,

I'm with Stracci. I like a diamond in a mans ear, no matter his natural looks. I see it often and have asked my son if he wants one. He declined. If you want one, get it. Its no longer that strange, and has become kinda main stream.
Annette

 

[Stephan]

Thank you all. I will go this route in January. I just saw a video on youtube on men getting ears pierced, it doesn't seem painful at all.

 

[sledge]

LOL, no worries @Stephan....it doesn't hurt. Had an ex-girlfriend pierce mine one night at home many years ago. Didn't even feel anything. Just heard a small pop and she put a stud in.

I found the standard size too small & dainty for my tastes. So I slowly started gauging it out. Bought a few different sizes and would gradually shove the next bigger size in. I didn't go stupid like some people. Got to about an 18 gauge which was what I liked and stopped.

Never wore a diamond. Mine were mostly hoops, barbells, etc. like this stuff.

If I was to wear a diamond, something like this might work:

Gauging kit for reference:

 

[Stephan]

Oh wow, that's some serious stuff!
I'll have my ear pierced in January, once the ear is healed I'll put a 0.5 ct inside it. I don't think I'll go bigger than that.

 

[sledge]

Oh wow, that's some serious stuff!
I'll have my ear pierced in January, once the ear is healed I'll put a 0.5 ct inside it. I don't think I'll go bigger than that.

I should clarify....that picture of the gauges made it look like maybe the hole was the size of a dime. That was NOT the message I was trying to convey. I wouldn't do that.

Think of speaker wire. Really thin wire has a numerically higher gauge (say 24 gauge). As the wire thickness increases, the gauge decreases. So a 18 gauge wire is larger than a 24 gauge.

I'm guessing a standard stud is about 24 gauge. When she pierced my ear, she used a needle. So a half carat diamond would be attached to a stud similar to the diamond picture I showed above, except the stud portion wouldn't be as thick if you never gauged your ears.

Also, are you doing just the left? It seems more of the trend now is both ears, even for a guy. Left ear is a somewhat dated style, at least where I live.

 

[Stephan]

Very informative, as usual @sledge! Thank you!
Yes, I'll begin with the left ear.
It's also outdated here to do only one ear, perhaps will I have the other ear pierced later, not sure yet. I will see which stone size fits the best first.

 

[gregchang35]

You have an entourage? I have a vision of security staff, guys in suits, and super-pretty ladies bringing you coffee on demand lol

I think @gregchang35 has his ears pierced, and there was the chap who had a 3ct D FL cut by CBI for an earring!

You won't see/enjoy an earring much, though - you could get a ring, if you haven't already?

i have both ears pierced with 2 piercings each.. what can i say- i love my bling.
I started with one piercing in the left ear, then 2 in left. then one in right then 2 in right. LOL

I have
1) (0.51 and 0.5ct) princess as main studs
2) 5.6mm OEC as main studs
3) the secondary studs are newly acquired BGD blues.
here are some pics of them

https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/my-bgd-blues-are-here.244883/#post-4449354

 

[Stephan]

Hi Greg, they really look awesome on your ear!

 

[gregchang35]

Thanx! @Stephan
Answering your question about the backs.
My first pair were screw studs.. i love it for the security. However, they are a pain to get on and get off. especially when it is time to clean. I had them for over 10yrs.
18mo ago... i ventured into the push backs and now i would not look at screwposts/ backs anymore. push backs are more convenient.

if you prefer more security, there are la pousettes or alpha backs instead of the screwposts. they just seem easier to manage that screw posts. I would consider these if i were to get more studs, but i think i am done with studs for now! LOL
https://www.esslinger.com/locking-ear-back-post-alpa-system-14k-yellow-gold/

one earring is great to have, but buying a pair is more economical cos, you know you will wnat to have the other ear pierced relatively soon!!!! LOLOLOLOL.. so buy 2 studs now!!!!

 

[Stephan]

Thank you for your reply @gregchang35!
I've made a lot of research on this forum, and it seems like screw studs won't be for me, because it will be a pain to remove them as I'll clean them very often. Push backs seem to become loose after a while... And the spring in La Pousette can rust and break, you should replace them frequently. That's why I think I'll go with chryselma backs.

 

[sledge]

Thanks @Stephan, hope it helps somehow.

This phase of my life seems like forever ago, lol. I haven't worn them in a very long time and don't even own any at this point in my life.

 

[gregchang35]

I think of having my left ear pierced, but I'm not sure...
The only reason is I love diamonds.
But I'm afraid my entourage will criticize me if I do it.
I'm 43 years old and I don't look hot or macho, so it's perhaps not suited.
Other concerns are: is it easy to wear it and to take it off, will I manage to wear it without leaving fingerprints on it, etc.
And as I don't like bezel set diamonds, I don't know what setting I would buy.
It would be a 0.6-0.79 D-E-F VVS-VS1.
Do you have some advice/ opinions? Thank you!
PS: there is no hurry, I won't do this before February.

take things easy with sizes of studs. Given that you are piercing your ear for the first time, I would say take your time. Leave your piercing studs in for the recommended time. Then, play with CZ stones of the 0.5ct (5mm) sizing. they are cheap enough to buy off eBay and the likes. See how they suit you. it will take time to adjust to the size and bling factor. for me.. the 0.5ct princesses were the right size. it took me a while to buy my first diamond earrings, but, I had other styles (hoops/ sleepers/ plain gold studs) and i worked up to the sizing of 5mm in CZ before i took the plunge and bought diamonds.

By your AVATAR- quality is important to you. H&A (bright) stones and your colour choice of DEF, means you might be colour sensitive.

Colour- it is what your eye and mind tell you and what you want.. easy to say but it isn't until you have a few diamonds of different colouring in front of you, that you can make that colour choice. You may have already done that and hence choosing the colours of DEF. My princesses are E colour. My OECs are I colour. Both very different and i love both of them for different reasons.

as for clarity- you have chosen VVS-VS1. What is the reason you have chosen these clarities? many will say Si1 and i tend to agree. because when i have Si1, they are eye clean: visible under 10x magnification. ie can only see it really close and under magnification. Being in your ears, no one is really going to know if they are Si1. But is that going to work for you- is it going to bother you? for some ppl it will, for others it wont.. hence the term/ phrase- is it mind clean enough for you.

the shape of stones... I am going to assume it is a round based on your avatar.

Settings for the 0.6-0.8ct...
personally, i would choose a 3 prong martini setting- simple setting.
The 3 claw prongs will still make the stone look round. My opinion is that 4 claws will make the stone look round, especially in this size range. However, that could be the look that you are after. so, study a few settings on a few vendor sites. It could change/ consolidate your decision.

A basket setting (which i did have for my princesses till i changed them to V clasp in martini style), is hard to maintain. the basket setting is like a trap for all that crud!!!!! Martini setting hugs the diamond better and it makes cleaning easier.
There are other (intricate) settings, too. I like the double claw settings, but that might be better for larger stones. And, these are going to be in your ears. I would keep it simple as no one is going to inspect the settings that closely...

i think that covers your questions.

 

[gregchang35]

Thank you for your reply @gregchang35!
I've made a lot of research on this forum, and it seems like screw studs won't be for me, because it will be a pain to remove them as I'll clean them very often. Push backs seem to become loose after a while... And the spring in La Pousette can rust and break, you should replace them frequently. That's why I think I'll go with chryselma backs.

i didn't know what those backs are till I googled them. It looks similar but different to the alpha backs. it seems to be using friction as well as a push mechanism to allow for the different gauge on the earring posts. I wonder if it is a spring action on it?
https://www.amazon.com/Chrysmela-Platinum-replacement-adjustable-hypoallergenic/dp/B01E9IXFBY

 

[Stephan]

take things easy with sizes of studs. Given that you are piercing your ear for the first time, I would say take your time. Leave your piercing studs in for the recommended time. Then, play with CZ stones of the 0.5ct (5mm) sizing. they are cheap enough to buy off eBay and the likes. See how they suit you. it will take time to adjust to the size and bling factor. for me.. the 0.5ct princesses were the right size. it took me a while to buy my first diamond earrings, but, I had other styles (hoops/ sleepers/ plain gold studs) and i worked up to the sizing of 5mm in CZ before i took the plunge and bought diamonds.

By your AVATAR- quality is important to you. H&A (bright) stones and your colour choice of DEF, means you might be colour sensitive.

Colour- it is what your eye and mind tell you and what you want.. easy to say but it isn't until you have a few diamonds of different colouring in front of you, that you can make that colour choice. You may have already done that and hence choosing the colours of DEF. My princesses are E colour. My OECs are I colour. Both very different and i love both of them for different reasons.

I'm not extremely color sensitive. I really dislike brown or grey tinted diamonds, but yellow is fine. I've had a lot of tinted diamonds from J to Z. I just want the diamond in the earring to be extremely white. It's a good idea to try a CZ!

as for clarity- you have chosen VVS-VS1. What is the reason you have chosen these clarities? many will say Si1 and i tend to agree. because when i have Si1, they are eye clean: visible under 10x magnification. ie can only see it really close and under magnification. Being in your ears, no one is really going to know if they are Si1. But is that going to work for you- is it going to bother you? for some ppl it will, for others it wont.. hence the term/ phrase- is it mind clean enough for you.

Clarity is very important for me. I once returned a custom cut 3.02 ct VS2 diamond because I could not live with the clarity. I lost a bunch of money on this one. I also know that on smaller diamonds, VS2 is not a big issue, but... you look Asian, and as all my diamond loving friends here are Vietnamese (I speak fluently Vietnamese), you certainly will understand that all this color/clarity thing is extremely important for them. Now I'm thinking of 0.5 D-F ct VVS, and it fits my budget and my mind clean issues.

the shape of stones... I am going to assume it is a round based on your avatar.

I think round are the best performing diamonds. If I once buy a huge rock, it will be an Emerald cut, but for smaller stones round seems the best compromise for me.

Settings for the 0.6-0.8ct...
personally, i would choose a 3 prong martini setting- simple setting.
The 3 claw prongs will still make the stone look round. My opinion is that 4 claws will make the stone look round, especially in this size range. However, that could be the look that you are after. so, study a few settings on a few vendor sites. It could change/ consolidate your decision.

A basket setting (which i did have for my princesses till i changed them to V clasp in martini style), is hard to maintain. the basket setting is like a trap for all that crud!!!!! Martini setting hugs the diamond better and it makes cleaning easier.
There are other (intricate) settings, too. I like the double claw settings, but that might be better for larger stones. And, these are going to be in your ears. I would keep it simple as no one is going to inspect the settings that closely...

The martini setting is very convenient, but I'm obsessive about symmetry. A 4 prong basket will be more work to clean, but I'll clean them at least once a day. And a more squarish look doesn't disturb me as long as I have the round performance. I don't like double claws, 6 prongs or bezel set diamonds.
Thank you for sharing your experience @gregchang35! Are you living in the UK?

 

[Stephan]

i didn't know what those backs are till I googled them. It looks similar but different to the alpha backs. it seems to be using friction as well as a push mechanism to allow for the different gauge on the earring posts. I wonder if it is a spring action on it?

It's stainless steel so it should not rust, and they pretend it doesn't become loose after a while. I don't know if it's only marketing, but I only could find positive reviews, on Pricescope and elsewhere. And I like the fact they look heavy and will keep your earlobe straight.

 

[gregchang35]

@Stephan i am in Australia.

Yes high colour and clarity for Asians... lol....
I can see tint.. but in older cuts, there is something special about them and hence, the i colour works for me with my OECs. All my studs are Si1. Cos, they are earrings and i can get a bigger stone for the budget. However, it is about what works for you. And, that is what matters most.

i cant wait to see what you end up with! have you chosen your vendor?

 

[Stephan]

Yes high colour and clarity for Asians... lol....
I can see tint.. but in older cuts, there is something special about them and hence, the i colour works for me with my OECs.

Totally agree! If one day I have the opportunity to buy a huge emerald cut, I-VVS would be my choice!

i cant wait to see what you end up with! have you chosen your vendor?

Not yet, I'm not in a hurry. I won't be able to have the piercing made before January the 15th, and then there are still 6 weeks to wait before putting something else in my ear.

 

[000Ed]

I do wore them for years and dont plan on stoping