Types of Earrings Fittings

TYPES OF EARRING FITTINGS AND CLOSURES: 

There are various types of ear fittings around and you will see a lot of the common terms used in the descriptions of the gemstone and vintage style earrings on our website.Here we have a short explanation of the different types of ear fittings and closures availabe.
 

• Continuous Hoop: Used for hoop earrings.  The earring post slides into the end of the hoop. The hoop is hollow, which allows for a seamless appearance.
• Clip On Earrings: For non pierced ears these have a hinged metal piece to the rear which snaps on to the rear of the ear lobe and holds the earrings in place.
• French Wire: This is a curved wire with the appearance of a fish hook. It  is passed through the pierced ear and then holds the earring in place. It is generally used with drop earrings.
• Hinged Snap Back: These are hinged earrings that spread open at the hinge.  The earring is secured by a curved post on the inner side of the earring top  which snaps into a latch.
• Lever back: This type of earring has a hook that goes through the pierced ear and is then held in place by a hinged lever that is attached to the rear of the earring. 
• Omega Back: This is a hinged, "O" shape type lever on the rear of the earring, near to the bottom, which closes over the post to hold the earring securely in place.
• Post or Stud, Push-Back Clips: The single wire that juts out the back of an earring is the post or stud.  The post goes through the pierced ear and is then held in place by a separate push-on clip that slides onto the post--these clips are called push-backs, push-back clips, butterfly backs tension backs or friction-backs.
• Snap Post:  This is a straight or curved post on the rear of the earring snaps that into a "v" shaped latch to fasten the earring safely to the earlobe.
• Threaders:  A thin, long metal chain  "threads" through the pierced ear, holding the earring in place.  Threader earrings are generally quite  long drop earrings, often  with several strands, that are fixed in place by threaders.

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​Above : Gold circle earrings earrings with french wires
Below : Sterling silver earrings with post and butterfly fittings