Gold hoop earrings: sizes, thickness and how they wear

Gold hoop earrings look simple, but two measurements decide almost everything about how they look and wear: the diameter and the thickness of the tube. Our hoop earrings list both, in millimeters. This guide explains what those numbers look like on the ear, and how closure and construction change the way a pair wears.

How hoops are measured

Diameter is the distance across the hoop, the number most people mean by "size". Tube width, also called thickness, is how thick the metal is. Our polished post hoops put both in the title: the 2.0 x 20mm polished post hoops have a 2mm tube and a 20mm diameter. On other hoops, both numbers are in the specifications as width, length and thickness.

Diameter: what each size looks like

Our gold hoops run from 8mm to 100mm across. As a guide:

• 8mm to 14mm sits close around the lobe. These are huggie sizes, easy to wear all day and good for a second or third piercing. See our huggies and post hoops.
• 15mm to 20mm is a small everyday hoop, visible but quiet. The 1.5 x 16mm post hoops come in 14K white, yellow and rose gold.
• 25mm to 30mm is the classic medium hoop, the size most people picture.
• 35mm to 45mm is a large hoop that frames the face.
• 50mm and up reaches toward the jaw and is worn to be noticed. The 2.0 x 60mm post hoops are one example; our range goes up to 100mm.

Face shape matters less than people think. Hair length, neckline and how often you wear earrings matter more. If you are choosing your first pair of gold hoops, 20mm to 30mm is the safest place to start.

Thickness: how bold a hoop looks

Tube width changes the character of a hoop more than diameter does. Two pairs of the same diameter can look completely different.

• 1mm to 1.5mm is fine and light, a hoop that reads as a line. See the 1.2 x 20mm post hoops.
• 2mm to 3mm is the everyday middle: substantial enough to catch the light, easy to wear with anything. The 3.0 x 40mm post hoops carry that weight at a larger size.
• 4mm to 5mm and up is a bold, chunky hoop. The 5.0 x 30mm post hoops are a good example.

A useful rule: the larger the diameter, the more tube width it can carry without looking heavy. A fine 1.2mm tube on a 60mm hoop looks airy; a 5mm tube on a 15mm hoop looks almost like a ring.

Weight and construction

Hoops are made either solid or hollow. A solid hoop is gold all the way through. A hollow hoop is formed around an empty center, so it can be large and thick without being heavy on the earlobe. That is why most wide, large hoops are hollow. The polished oval hollow hoops are 5.35mm wide and still light enough for a full day. The trade-off is that hollow gold can dent if it is crushed, so store hollow hoops where nothing heavy will sit on them. Thin hoops are light whether solid or hollow.

Closures and how they wear

Every listing names its closure in the specifications. The common types are:

• Post and push back. The hoop fastens like a stud, with an open C shape that curves under the lobe. All of our polished post hoops close this way.
• Hinged, with a notch and lock. A section of the hoop swings open and clicks into place. These are easy to put on, and they look like a continuous circle once closed. See the diamond in-out hinged hoops, set with diamonds on the inside and outside of the hoop.
• Hidden wire and catch. A fine wire passes through the ear and tucks into the tube. The polished hinged huggie hoops close this way.
• Wire and clutch. A wire through the ear fastens into a small clutch, as on the diamond-cut twist hoops, which come in sizes from 21mm to 40mm.

For hoops you plan to sleep in, small hinged huggies are the most comfortable. For large hoops worn every day, a secure hinge or a post with a firm back is the better choice.

Finish and metal

Polished hoops give a clean, bright line. Diamond-cut hoops have facets cut into the metal itself, so they catch light from more angles. Twisted and textured hoops add movement without adding size. Most of our hoops are 14K gold in yellow, white or rose, with some two-tone styles; many white gold pieces are listed as rhodium-plated, which gives a brighter white. Our listings advise wiping hoops with a soft dry cloth and taking them off before swimming.

Where to start

Browse round hoops, oval hoops, endless hoops and inside-out hoops, or see all gold hoop earrings together. For a smaller everyday earring, our stud earrings are listed by stone size in the same way. US orders over $250 ship free.