How to Buy Diamond Stud Earrings
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Diamond stud earrings are a timeless jewelry style that can enhance any look. From a casual outfit to formal occasions, men’s and women’s diamond stud earrings are the quintessential accessory.
Whether you’re buying these brilliant earrings for yourself or a loved one, there are buying tips that can help you choose the perfect pair. Take the guesswork out of diamond stud earring shopping with our expert tips and tricks.
Choosing Between Preset or Custom Pairs
You can choose from already completed pairs of diamond stud earrings or you can design custom earrings by selecting your exact diamonds and settings. Whichever style you choose, you’ll be sure to find high-quality pairs with brilliant diamonds.
For already completed pairs, you can choose solitaire settings for each ear lobe, cluster designs or unique pairs such as diamond studs in floral shapes. Custom pairs include classic studs, gemstone halos and prong or bezel settings.
When browsing either style of affordable diamond stud earrings, you can choose from settings in white gold, yellow gold, rose gold or platinum. Many settings are minimal in design, putting the focus on the diamonds themselves. This makes the 4Cs of diamonds an important consideration when buying diamond studs.
Quick Steps for Buying Diamond Stud Earrings
Ready to quickly find your perfect pair of affordable diamond stud earrings? We offer a wide selection of women’s and men’s diamond earrings. Follow these steps to find the right fit:
- Choose a jeweler you can trust, such as ones with transparent reporting and easy returns
- Pick a diamond shape
- Decide which of the 4Cs matters the most to you
- Opt for a durable metal, such as gold or platinum
- Look for completed pairs or design your own styles
- Focus on diamonds with reporting, such as GIA diamonds
These are the quick steps for buying diamond stud earrings, but there are many elements you can keep in mind if you’d like to select specific gems, settings or styles. Looking to get more hands on with your diamond stud earring buying? Follow our additional tips to find your perfect pair.
Prioritizing the 4Cs
Just as with engagement rings, there are choices to be made when it comes to the 4Cs of your earrings. The 4Cs (cut, color, clarity and carat) are ratings used to reliably grade the most important components of diamonds. All IGI or GIA graded diamonds receive ratings for each component of the 4Cs, making it easy to choose the right pair of gems for your earrings.
Both our custom and completed pairs of diamond studs include information regarding the cut, color, clarity and carat of the gems included in the pairs. Each of the 4Cs can influence the beauty of diamond studs.
Diamond Stud Earrings Cut
Considered one of the most important of the 4Cs, the cut of a diamond impacts its beauty and sparkle. For earrings, it’s best to choose a minimum cut quality of good. The higher the quality, the better a diamond’s light performance will be. Pairs with elongated cuts, such as these oval diamond studs, look best with higher-quality cuts.
Diamond Stud Earrings Color
The color of a diamond in regard to the 4Cs is actually a rating of how colorless it is. A D rating is the most colorless, with each grade getting increasingly tinted through the descending alphabet. We offer diamond studs with colorless D diamonds all the way through slightly yellow J diamonds. Cool diamonds are a popular choice, but pairs of warm diamonds have benefits as well.
Cluster settings with smaller gems in warm metals, such as these sunburst rose gold diamond studs, can often enhance the appearance of lower quality diamond colors.
Pro tip: It’s best to choose two diamonds with similar color ratings for a matching pair.
Diamond Stud Earrings Clarity
Whether formed naturally or in controlled lab settings, diamonds often have inclusions as a result of their unique composition. Diamond clarity assesses the imperfections both on the surface and within the interior of a diamond. The smaller size of diamond earrings makes them excellent for a wide variety of clarity ratings. Slightly included pairs are popular options for affordable diamond stud earrings.
If you’re looking for a more flawless set, it’s best to choose the exact natural or lab grown diamonds you’d like with a pair of custom earrings. You can start with these platinum diamond earring settings or other styles in classic gold.
Diamond Stud Earrings Carat
Many people think that carat is equal to the size of a gemstone, but the carat of a diamond actually refers to its weight. There are weights that often correlate with specific sizes, and a higher carat weight typically results in a larger looking diamond. For designs with halos, such as this pair of double halo stud earrings, a higher carat weight indicates more diamonds in the setting.
Popular carat weights for diamond stud earrings include 0.25 all the way through 2 carats, though larger and smaller sizes are often available outside of this common range. Pairs of diamond studs are sold by total carat weight, which is often represented by a ct tw measurement. In general, you can expect half of the total carat weight measurement to be included in each earring. So for example, a 2 carat set of diamond earrings will feature two 1 carat diamond studs, one for each ear.
Pro tip: When designing custom diamond studs, it’s best to select two diamonds of similar carat weights for a uniform look.
Popular Diamond Shapes for Stud Earrings
Though shape is not one of the 4Cs, it’s an important element to consider when choosing diamonds for earrings. Shape options include round, princess, cushion, emerald, oval, radiant, Asscher, marquise, heart and pear.
Pro tip: For pairs, you should choose two diamonds of the same shape.
Choosing Between Natural or Lab Diamond Stud Earrings
Whether you’re buying a complete pair or a custom set of diamond stud earrings, you can choose between natural or lab diamonds.
We offer expertly-matched pairs of natural diamonds alongside matching sets of lab created diamonds. They can be placed into the setting of your choice for custom pairs.
When browsing already completed sets, you can filter by your preferred diamond type for a pair that’s endlessly brilliant. We offer a wide selection of natural and lab grown diamond earrings with stylish studs for any aesthetic.
Questions About Diamond Stud Earrings
With multiple styles, transparent diamond ratings and fast shipping, our online jewelry store is one of the best places to buy affordable diamond studs.
We make it easy to buy affordable diamond stud earrings. You can choose from our wide selection of diamond earrings, including completed studs or custom pairs. With fast shipping and simple returns, it’s easy to find a stylish pair of diamond studs.
As the most durable gemstone, diamond studs are perfect for frequent wear. Bezel settings, such as these 14k yellow gold stud settings, are the most popular for daily wear. Other setting styles, such as these 14k rose gold four-prong earrings, can also withstand frequent wear. It’s best to remove your studs regularly to clean them. You’ll also want to make sure that your earring backing is secure, so your studs stay in place.
Depending on your style, a set of 2 carat diamond studs can be the perfect fit.
The price of your earrings will depend on their materials and the 4Cs of the diamonds. Smaller lab diamonds will typically cost less than larger natural ones. Pairs start below $500, such as this pair of 1/5 ct. tw. studs.
It’s a good idea to learn more about the 4Cs of diamonds and how they impact a gem’s appearance. You may also want to learn more about what makes metals durable. Solid 14k or 18k gold and platinum are popular durable metals that make the perfect setting for diamonds.
Though it may not necessarily harm the earrings, it is not recommended to sleep in diamond studs. This precaution is mainly to prevent damage to the settings and loss of the earrings.
Because these earrings focus on their gemstones above all else, the quality of your diamonds is what matters the most.
At Blue Nile, we make it easy to find the perfect pair of affordable diamond stud earrings. Whether you’re searching for the newest addition to your jewelry collection, an anniversary gift, bridal jewelry or a boyfriend gift, diamond studs are a timeless choice for any occasion. Our experts are available to help you choose a stunning pair of diamond earrings. We can assist at one of our local jewelry stores or online, contact us today to get started.
