Converting Studs to Drops

[Miss Marple]

Looking for thoughts and advice. Love these earrings but after months of daily wear, they are causing irritation to my ears. Tried a number of solutions that have not worked. I've had this problem before with studs but i seem to be ok with hoops. In any case, given that studs seem to highlight that my piercings are not even, I'm Mulling over other options.

So, do you think it's possible to gracefully convert these earrings to lever back drops where the stone does not end up so front heavy that the diamond faces the ground? Would the issue be the same if one was converted to a pendant?

what about adding a shank to convert one of the earrings into a solitaire?

Or would I be better off trying to sell the existing setting and having the diamonds set into earrings that were already designed to be drop earrings?

Thanks!

 

[agingsparkle]

Are those screwbacks? I just can't wear them. I had mine switched to large friction backs, and haven't had problems since. I also did platinum because of a nickel allergy, but I'm assuming metal allergy isn't the cause... are these settings the same metal as the hoops you can wear?

 

[Miss Marple]

They are screwbacks. Maybe I'll purchase an inexpensive set of studs to test that hypothesis. Thanks for the suggestion.

Metal is not the same in my hoops. These earrings are nickel free unplated white gold. One set of hoops are platinum. The other 14k rose gold. I dont know the alloy for either but they were purchased from blue Nile. I have a third set of hoops on 18k yellow gold. I can wear all of them without issue.

I'm still thinking about a conversion or reset in any case due to the uneven hole placement.

 

[facetgirl]

I can wear leverbacks more readily than posts - just be mindful of how thick the leverbacks are. If they are thin, you shouldn't have a problem.

 

[the_mother_thing]

Metal is not the same in my hoops. These earrings are nickel free unplated white gold. One set of hoops are platinum. The other 14k rose gold. I dont know the alloy for either but they were purchased from blue Nile. I have a third set of hoops on 18k yellow gold. I can wear all of them without issue.

Are you sure there isn’t perhaps an allergy to something else in the WG studs (that isn’t present in your other earrings), and that’s why the others don’t cause the irritation? WG has a few alloys so it could be something else besides nickel. Or, is it possible the backs are not nickel-free?

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

I often have the same problem. Screwbacks are the worst, then posts and I can tolerate hook best. If you are worried about the position of the diamonds on your ear, why not consider an articulated design? This further reduces the uneven hole problem (talking from my own experience here:roll) and adds some interest.

 

[MollyMalone]

Have you previously worn lever-backs? The reason I ask is because lever-backs aren't usually very comfy for me: although I have small-ish ear lobes, they are kinda chubby (thick) ones. Combine that with my ears' sensitivity to various alloys (no other jewelry bothers me), and I do best with French wires/shepherd's hooks & omega backs. You don't usually see studs in omega-style mountings, but here's a pic I found:

 

[MaisOuiMadame]

Found a pic: https://goo.gl/images/aXg3qb

 

[rainydaze]

I have difficulty wearing earrings. There seems to be little rhyme or reason, except when it comes to screw backs. Those consistently irritated me. Switching to non-screwback, all-platinum settings worked.

If you try non-screwback stud settings, make sure the backing is also platinum.

 

[Miss Marple]

Thanks for all the suggestions. It occurred to me that the backs might be the problem but I don't notice irritation only on the back of my ear.

Sounds like drops with a thin wire are the way to go.

 

[Lookinagain]

screw back always cause my ears to get irritated and red and a bit "raw". I gave up trying to wear them years ago. All of my studs are just regular posts with normal, but a bit larger than normal, push type backs. I've never lost one and I wear them all the time. Do all studs bother you no matter the type of post? If so, then my comment is irrelevant, but otherwise, try regular un-threaded posts.