Small everyday stud earrings in 14K gold and white gold
A small stud earring that can stay in day and night is, for many people, the piece of jewellery that gets the most use. Here at Longvé you'll find small stud earrings with a single diamond in 14K gold and 14K white gold, in sizes from a 0.015 carat diamond that barely fills more than a dot in the ear, to slightly larger stones of 0.10 carat. This page gathers the discreet models, explains the difference between the two settings, helps you choose carat for multiple piercings, and goes through how they suit sensitive ears and daily care.
The difference between prong and bezel in small stud earrings
The small stud earrings come in two basic settings, and the choice between them changes both the look and the everyday function.
A prong setting holds the diamond with small claws, so the stone is lifted free and catches light from several sides. This gives more sparkle in a small stone, where every glint counts. A pair of tiny prong stud at 0.015 carat per ear is about as discreet as a diamond can get, while a pair of small prong stud at 0.06 carat per ear gives a touch more presence without becoming a statement earring.
A bezel setting surrounds the diamond with a smooth rim of metal all the way around. The rim protects the stone and makes the stud extra smooth, so it doesn't catch in hair or clothing. That makes a bezel good for those who wear the studs all the time and would rather forget they're there. A pair of small bezel stud gives a calm, closed look, where the diamond sits level with the metal rather than lifted up.
Both settings are available with both lab-grown and natural diamonds in the same design, so the look is the same regardless of the stone's origin.
How to choose carat for one or more piercings
The small stud earrings take up very little space, and the carat figure determines how much they stand out. The smaller the stone, the more discreet the stud becomes, and the more easily it sits in several places in the ear at once.
- 0.015 carat per ear is the smallest. A tiny bezel stud or a corresponding prong model works well high up in the cartilage or in a piercing other than the lobe.
- 0.06 carat per ear is still small, but more clearly visible. It's a natural choice for the main piercing in the earlobe.
- 0.10 carat per ear is the largest among the small models. A small emerald cut stud in the square emerald cut or a small pear cut stud in the pear shape gives a slightly more noticeable eye-catcher and is well suited if the stud is to stand alone.
Many stud earrings are sold as single studs, not only in pairs. This makes it possible to mix sizes between ear and piercing, so the smallest sits high up and the slightly larger one in the lobe. If you want to build a collection across several piercings, a small prong or bezel in 0.015 carat is a calm place to start.
Emerald cut and the pear shape as alternatives to the round stone
Most small stud earrings have a round, brilliant-cut diamond that casts light from many facets. Two cuts break with the round shape and give a different look, even in a small stone.
An emerald-cut diamond is rectangular with step-shaped facets that give a calmer, more mirror-like light than the round brilliant cut. A small emerald cut stud at 0.10 carat appears slightly longer and more architectural in the ear. A pear-shaped diamond has a round end and a pointed end, and therefore points in a direction, which gives the stud a clear orientation when it sits in the lobe. Both cuts are available in both 14K gold and 14K white gold and with both lab-grown and natural diamonds. All of Longvé's cuts across sizes are gathered under fancy cut studs.
14K gold or 14K white gold for the diamond
The metal colour controls how the diamond reads. 14K gold gives a warm frame, where the yellow tone around the stone makes the diamond stand out as an eye-catcher, especially in a prong setting where the metal is less visible. 14K white gold has a cool, silver-grey tone that blends together with a colourless diamond, so the stone and the setting flow more as one. This gives a unified, discreet look that is hard to distinguish from a pure diamond.
If you already wear other jewellery, the easiest thing is to follow the metal colour they have. Gold at gold and white gold at white gold show the two tones side by side. Both settings and all the small sizes are available in both metals, so the choice of colour doesn't limit the choice of model.
Are small stud earrings suitable for sensitive ears?
14K gold and 14K white gold are among the metals that are well tolerated by most people. 14K means that the jewellery is about 58 percent pure gold, while the rest is other metals that make the alloy strong enough for daily use. That is precisely the advantage of a solid gold stud over a gold-plated alternative. The gold runs all the way through and can't wear off, so the skin meets the same surface no matter how long the stud is worn.
White gold gets its cool colour from the alloy and often has a thin layer of rhodium on the outside, which can wear away very slowly over the years. If the ears do become irritated, it's more often about a new piercing that hasn't healed, or dirt in the back, than about the gold itself.
How to care for small stud earrings so they last
Small stud earrings can be left in, but over time they collect skin oil, soap residue and hair products behind the stone and in the back. This is typically the explanation if a diamond seems dull, or if the ear becomes irritated by a stud that otherwise always sat well.
- Place the stud earrings in lukewarm water with a drop of mild dish soap for a few minutes.
- Gently brush around the setting and behind the stone with a soft toothbrush, so the dirt loosens where it collects.
- Rinse in clean water and dry with a soft cloth, so no water is left in the back.
A bezel setting is easier to keep clean, because the metal closes around the stone, while a prong setting has small gaps at the claws where dirt hides. The walkthrough in how to clean earrings goes into the procedure in more detail. If several kinds of jewellery are to be cleaned at once, how to clean jewellery gathers the methods.
Can you sleep with small stud earrings in?
Small stud earrings are designed precisely to be able to stay in, and a flat bezel setting without protruding claws is the most comfortable to sleep in, because it doesn't catch in the pillow. A prong setting also sits fine, but the claws can in rare cases catch on fabric over time.
What most often wears on a stud earring is not the night, but the putting in and taking out itself. If the stud stays in, you avoid losing the small back, and the piercing is kept open. The topic is covered more generally in can you sleep with jewellery on. If you want to see the full range of discreet models gathered together, they're under stud earrings along with the rest of the selection at earrings.