Saturday, January 1, 2011

The Scoop on Diamond Stud Earrings By Maria Vastola

It is important to know what to look for when you are buying diamond stud earrings. The first and most important decision to make is what kind of diamond stud earrings you like the most. It might sound simple, because a stud is a stud... Right? No! There are several types of studs setting and closures.

The most common variations of settings are plays on the number of prongs and small other differences. First of all, based on the shape of the stone is normally what will determine the number of prongs. This is due to security to make sure that stones don't fall out. For instance, it wouldn't be smart to set a round stone with two prongs. So the industry has more or less standardized the number of prongs by shape. This standardization was not a formal movement, but came about over time due to the security reasons mentioned above. Although there is that standardization, there is still some variation regarding the number of prongs. For example, you can have a round diamond stud earring with four, three or six prongs. The most common variation for round diamond stud earrings is basket or martini. Martini is called such because of the shape of the setting; it looks like a martini glass. The basket style is called such because it looks like a basket. Princess cut is normally four prongs, marquise can be four or six prongs, oval is normally six prong but can be four, trillion is normally three prongs, heart shaped is normally five prongs, but can be three prongs.

Another variation on stud earrings that you can choose from is "v" tip or not. This choice is only an option for diamonds that have corners like princess or marquise. The term "v" tip means that rather than a long thin prong in the corner, there is actually a "v" of metal that hugs the corners. The reason that people like a v tip setting is that it protects the corners of your stone. On a princess cut or a marquise, the corners are the most delicate and can easily be broken. Having a v tip is an excellent way to protect your stones.

When it comes to studs, the way that it sits on your ear is normally a post with a back. There is a lot of variation in the post and back as well. Most people will use a screw back and post if they have large or expensive studs. The back essentially screws onto the post so that unless the earring is ripped off, it cannot fall off. The other commonly used closure is a post with a butterfly back, or also commonly knows as tension back. It is referred to as butterfly because it looks like a butterfly and is held on the metal by tension, hence the other nick name. Also, there are earrings with magnetic backs, but we certainly do not recommend them if your earrings are heavy or expensive. They can get lost too easily.

You can get lost in the sea of options when looking at Diamond Stud Earrings. There are many options out there and so far the only points touched upon were type of setting and type of closure. There are many other details to think about such as type of stone, shape of stone, type of metal and many more options. The best thing to do is educate yourself and know exactly what kind of Diamond Stud Earrings you want.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Maria_Vastola

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