Ear Piercing

Ear piercing is one of the oldest known types of body modification, with artistic and written references from cultures across the world dating back to early history. One of the earliest signs of earrings worn by men are from the walls of Persepolis in ancient Persia, the carved images of the soldiers from different parts of the Persian Empire that are displayed on some of the surviving walls of the palace showing the soldiers wearing an earring.

Ear Piercing Fashion

Another equally early proof of earring wearing took place in the Bible record of Exodus written by Moses in the wilderness; the second book of the Bible. In Exodus 32:1-4 Moses is still up in the mountain, so the complaining Israelites demand that Aaron make a god for them. So he tells them to bring their sons and daughters earrings to him so that he may comply with their demand. (Written in 1532 B.C.E.) [William Crockerham] 15:18 29, July 2009.

Pierced ears were popular in the US through the early 1920s, and then fell into disfavour among women due to the increasing popularity of clip-on earrings. Nonetheless, a small male following continued to exist, especially among sailors, for whom a pierced earlobe often meant that the wearer had sailed across the world or had crossed the equator. In addition, if a non-service member sailor was involved in and survived a sinking ship, they were usually seen wearing an earring in the left ear. There was also a long-held belief according to which puncturing the earlobe was beneficial to increasing the acuity of eyesight or of hearing. Also, it was a common belief amongst sailors that if their ship wrecked and their bodes washed up on a shoreline, the person to find them would take the earring as payment for a Christian burial. It is because of this belief that many sailors invested quite a bit amount of money on gold earrings, as they were very superstitious.

Ear piercing became commonly available in the offices of physicians. Some of the earliest commercial, non-medical locations for getting an ear piercing appeared in the 1970s at Manhattan jewellery stores, although the overall commercial market was still in the infancy stage. By the 1980s, ear piercing became common among many women, thus fuelling a broader market for the procedure. Department stores across the country would hold ear piercing events, sponsored by manufacturers of earrings. At such events, a nurse or other trained person would perform the procedure, either pushing a sharpened and sterilized starter earring through the earlobe by hand, or using an ear-piercing instrument.

In the late 1960s, ear piercing started gaining popularity among men through the hippie and gay communities. In the late 1970s, amateur piercings, sometimes with safety pins and/or multiple piercings became popular in the punk rock community. By the 1980s, the trend for male popular music performers to have pierced ears helped creating a fashion trend for men. This was later adopted by many professional sportspersons. British men started piercing both ears in the 1980s; George Michael of Wham! was a prominent example. The heavily jeweled Mr. T was an early example of an American celebrity sporting earrings in both ears, although this trend did not become popular with mainstream American men until the 1990s.

In several Western cultures, piercing the left vs. the right ear alone has sometimes been considered to be associated with a particular sexual orientation. In the late 60's it was said that "left is 'right' and right is 'wrong'"; the left ear being safe for piercing by straight men and a pierced right ear meaning one was gay.

Multiple piercings in one or both ears was first seen in mainstream America in the 1970s. In starting days, the trend was for women to wear a second set of earrings in the earlobes, or for men to double-pierce a single earlobe. Asymmetric styles with more and more piercings gained popularity, eventually leading to the cartilage piercing trend.

A type of specialized cartilage piercings has since become popular. These include the tragus piercing, antitragus piercing, rook piercing, industrial piercing, helix piercing, orbital piercing, daith piercing, and conch piercing. In addition, earlobe stretching, while common in primitive cultures for thousands of years, began appearing in the Western society in the 1990s, and is now a fairly common sight. However, these types of ear piercing are still infrequent compared to standard ear piercing.

Today, earrings have become one of the most popular jewelry good among people of all age groups all across the world. A variety of earrings are available in the market that can be used to create a gorgeous look. A great choice of fashionable earrings can be used to suit any outfit, whether you’re looking to make a statement or like a more understated look. People can enjoy classic style beautiful silver hoop earrings, stand out with buffalo horn ear drops or choose natural style with an amazing choice of wooden ear drops.

Types of Ear Piercing

The different types of ear piercing techniques that are in practice in recent times are -

• Ear - Anti-Tragus
• Ear - Auricle
• Ear - Conch
• Ear - Daith
• Ear - Industrial
• Ear - Orbital
• Ear - Lobe
• Ear - Pinna
• Ear - Forward Pinna
• Ear - Rook
• Ear - Scaffold
• Ear - Snug
• Ear - Tragus

Diamond Stud Earrings – Buying Tips

Diamond stud earrings are a timeless gift. While simple enough for daytime wear, these are also elegant enough to accent evening attire.

Diamond Stud Earrings

When you are planning to buy diamond stud earrings, there are several beautiful examples to choose from, so you can take your time to pick exactly the right diamond stud earrings to match your lifestyle. If you are selecting diamond stud earrings as a gift for another party, that's even more reason to take the time choosing the gift you want to present.

Some of the important points that you must consider while buying Diamond stud earrings are:

Price:
Few people can afford the luxury to ignore price when they are looking for a gift. Even if this is a special gift for a special person, you still have to take time to determine the budget, which you can afford to spend on this particular gift. Once you've decided a price range for your diamond stud earrings, you can then move on to the next step that is the selection of the metal.

Metal: 
Majority of people have a definite preference as to which metal they prefer to wear when selecting jewellery. Diamond stud earrings are no exception. If the recipient of the gift is usually seen wearing white gold, you should go for the white gold look rather than yellow gold when selecting the gift. If you afford to go to the next level of luxury, choose platinum for the metal. 

Diamond Stud Earrings

Platinum is less likely to contain alloys that can cause allergic reactions such as those found with alloys that contain nickel. Occasionally you may see some unique settings incorporating diamonds and such substances as citrine or black pearl which are real eye-catching when used as the basis of the diamond stud earrings.

Design:
Selecting the design of the setting is often a personal preference, but you can at least look for patterns in designs. For example, a person who loves lacy dainty designs may probably not appreciate a heavy, square cut design for diamond stud earrings that you choose. Another thing which is related to this suggestion is the size of the setting itself. The diamond stud earrings should be in proportion to the size of the ear lobes and the size of the person's face so they do not look overwhelmed by the earrings.

Center of Gravity:Another factor which should be considered while selecting the earrings is - where the center of gravity lies. An earrings in which the diamond is set too far forward so that the main weight of the stone is not close to the ear, but instead pulls it out and down is one that does not seem as attractive, since not only is the ear lobe affected, but the way the diamond lays against the ear is distorted.

Earrings: An Introduction

Earrings can be defined as a jewelry that is attached to the ear through a piercing in the earlobe or any other external part of the ear (except in the case of clip earrings that clip onto the lobe). Now days, people of both sexes worn earrings. Traditionally earrings have been worn primarily by women, though in recent few decades, it has also become popular among men in most parts of the world.

Beautiful Earrings in different shapes and designs

The term “ear piercing” generally refers to an earlobe piercing, whereas piercings in the upper part of the external ear are sometimes referred as “cartilage piercings.” Cartilage piercings are more difficult to perform than earlobe piercings.

Earrings are made of a variety of materials, metal, glass, plastic, beads, precious stones, etc. Designs may range from small loops and studs to large plates and dangling items. The earrings come in a variety of small and big sizes, which is ultimately limited by the physical capacity of the earlobe to hold the earrings without tearing.

Types of Earrings:

Stud Earrings: An important feature of stud earrings is the appearance of floating on the earlobe or ear without a visible point of connection (from the front). Studs are invariably designed on the end of a post that penetrates straight through the ear. The post is kept in place by a removable friction back or clutch. Sometimes, the stud earrings are constructed so that the post is threaded thereby providing a screw back to securely keep the earring in place. This is useful i n preventing the loss of expensive earrings constructed of precious stones or metals.

Hoop Earrings: The primary characteristic of hoop earrings is their circular or semi-circular design, which looks very similar to a ring. Hoop earrings are generally made of metal tubing, with a thin wire attachment that penetrates the ear. The hollow tubing is permanently joined to the wire at the front of the ear, and slips into the tube at the back. The earring is held together by tension between the wire and the tube.

Some other hoop designs do not complete the circle, but penetrate through the ear in a post, and are designed using the same attachment techniques, which apply to stud earrings. A variation is the continuous hoop earring, in which the earring is made of a continuous piece of solid metal that penetrates through the ear and can be rotated by almost 360°. One of the ends is permanently joined to a small piece of metallic tubing or a hollow metallic bead. The other end is inserted into the tubing or bead, and is kept in place by tension. A special type of hoop earring is the sleeper earring, which is a very small continuous piece of (typically) gold wire that essentially hugs the base of the earlobe with the ends connecting in the back. Because of their small size and hence the comfort, sleepers are sometimes worn at night to keep an ear piercing from closing.

Dangle Earrings: Dangle earrings can be defined as earrings that are designed to flow from the bottoms of the earlobes, and come in a variety of lengths from a centimetre or two, all the way to brushing the shoulders. They are usually attached to the ear by the use of thin wires that go through the earlobe and connect to themselves in a small hook at the back. A variation is the French hook design that merely hangs from the earlobe without closure, though small plastic retainers are sometimes used on the ends of French hooks.

Huggy Earrings: Huggy Earrings are a popular style of earring where the setting typically 'hugs' your earlobe. These earrings come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from hearts to rectangles. Many custom jewelers design huggy earrings because of the several varieties of setting, which can be used to make a good template for their craft.

Slave Earrings: Also known as "Bajoran earring ", slave earrings became highly popular after they appeared on Star Trek. It is a rarely seen kind of earring in which a stud is connected by a delicate chain to an ear cuff or a cartilage pierce worn higher on the ear.

Ear Thread: Ear Threads can be defined as earrings that are designed using a chain, which is thin enough to slip into the ear hole, and come back out, dangles. Sometimes, jewele rs add beads or other materials on to the chain, so that the chain dangles with beads below the ear.

Ear Spikes: Ear Spikes can be defined as a type of plastic stick 1 mm in diameter and 1.5 cm long, which goes into the ear piercing. It does not fall out due to the fact that it is slightly bigger than the piercing.

Men & Earrings

Well, as many people think, wearing earrings is not just confined to females. If sparkling studs adorned in a variety of hues can turn a plain Jane into a glamour queen then simple yet stylish hoops or studs can, quietly transform, enhance a man's physique.

In ancient times, men's earrings were considered a form of art. This is quite evident in the 19th century engraved images of men with earrings, especially of Persian descent, exhibited on palace walls. In other parts of the world as well including India and Egypt religious leaders, kings and pharaohs respectively were seen wearing men's earrings. Earrings for men were also popular in Assyria and Babylonia for they reflect the wearer’s status in the society.

At one time, metal earrings for men were considered to protect the person from evil spirits. Such ancient customs show as to why gold and silver hoops are among the most popular men's earring style. Ear-lobes were perhaps man's first shot at body piercing. In 1991, the oldest mummified body on earth was found in a Glacier in Austria. According to the tests the body was more than 5000 years old; it had pierced ears with holes, which were enlarged to 7 to 11 mm diameter.

In the western world, the fascination of earrings for women can perhaps be dated to the 1920's in Western Europe. As for as men are considered, ear piercing began to get popular towards the middle of 20th century. In earlier days, ear piercing was done with the help of a safety pin for making holes in the ear. However, in recent times better piercing techniques such as ear guns are being used to set in earrings in one's ears. Moreover, during the flamboyant 1980's, men's earrings gained even more popularity with the famous musicians, entertainers, performers and athletes often flaunting them. Usually, two kinds of men's earrings are available- studs and hoops.

As ear piercing for men started gaining popularity, most of fashion enthusiast men were seen sporting a single stud in only one ear. During those days, it was considered a taboo for males to sport studs or hoops in both their ears, or in just right ear. However, in present days, you can find a number of men with more holes in their ears than even some women! Some people think that men's earrings denote homosexuality. In fact many heterosexual males simply like to sport earrings as a fashion statement. In fact, ear piercing is a more or less universal practice for both women and men; it's only in the west where some considered it effeminate.

In the past, men adorned themselves in elaborate earrings even in the western countries. For instance, during the Elizabethan period many well-known men including Sir Walter Raliegh, Francis Drake and Shakespeare wore gold earrings. It is argued, while the Roman Republic turned more effeminate with luxury and wealth, earrings became more popular among males than the females!

Today, it’s not just well-groomed urbanites that are seen sporting jewellery, indeed, in the streets, men's earrings are believed to symbolise toughness. Some think men's earrings play up sexuality while retaining masculinity, often making a man look cool and a lot snazzier. Be it diamond, platinum, gold or silver, or even semi-precious stones, men's earrings have become an essential part of men's jewellery.