An earring is a piece of jewellery attached to the ear via a piercing in the earlobe or another external part of the ear (except in the case of clip earrings, which clip onto the lobe). Earrings are worn by both sexes, although more common among women, and have been used by different civilizations in different times.
Common locations for piercings, other than the earlobe, include the rook, tragus, and across the helix (see image at right).The simple term "ear piercing" usually refers to an earlobe piercing, whereas piercings in the upper part of the external ear are often referred to as "cartilagepiercings". Cartilage piercings are more complex to perform than earlobe piercings and take longer to heal.
Types of earrings
- Huggy earrings - Huggies are a popular style of earring where the setting actually 'hugs' your earlobe. These can come in different shapes and sizes, from hearts to rectangles. Many custom jewelers make huggy earrings because of the many varieties of setting that can be used to make a good template for their craft. Most times, stones are channel set in huggy earrings.
- Slave earrings - The slave earring is also called a "Bajoran earring", which became highly popular after it appeared on Star Trek.
- Ear Thread - Or Earthreader, Ear String, Threader, a chain that is thin enough to slip into the ear hole, and come back out, dangles. Sometimes, people add beads or other materials on to the chain, so the chain dangles with beads below the ear.
- Ear Spikes - A type of plastic stick 1 mm in diameter and 1.5 cm long that goes into the ear piercing. It does not fall out because it is slightly bigger than the piercing. It is quite popular amongst teenage and preteen girls in Hong Kong, as most schools do not even allow stud earrings.
