Shorter Earring Posts?

[Andelain]

I've got a couple nice sets of earrings over here, one WF and the other BGD. The posts on one of the sets is about 9.5 mm long and the other is 10.5. They both bug me when the posts stick so far out the back of my ear and poke me. I kid you not, I'm ready to take tin snips to the lot of them! Some of you on here know I'd do it, too.

So what I wonder is am I unsual in wanting shorter posts? I contacted WF about a pair of tiny presets and when I asked if the posts could be cut to 8mm the person I talked to seemed to think I'd lost my mind. Don't get me wrong, she was super nice about it, but I wonder if that's really so uncommon of a request.

What say you?

 

[yssie]

Ah, you're not alone!

I too prefer shorter posts - longer ones poke at me when I hold a phone or lie down. Wouldn't recommend the snippers unless you've still got some of that ol' sandpaper lying around though, you probably don't want to make stakes

 

[Andelain]

Ah, you're not alone!

I too prefer shorter posts - longer ones poke at me when I hold a phone or lie down. Wouldn't recommend the snippers unless you've still got some of that ol' sandpaper lying around though, you probably don't want to make stakes

I knew anyone that read the thread about my ring wouldn't put it past me, and I do have a fine file here.

I just sent a message to DanielM to make the posts holding my AVR's shorter. I'm seriously on the verge of snipping at least the WF earrings. I doubt I'll bother with the BGD's since they're getting reset as soon as I decide what to do with them.

Yssie, how long do you like your posts?

 

[sparklypoodle]

Great question! I've been wondering if they could be shorter too, as I'd like to be able to sleep in mine...

Do you sleep in yours Yissie? Do they hurt?

 

[yssie]

Hmm...I measured just for you, my danielM posts are 8.61mms by the calipers they're very comfortable. The only downside is drops which you need to thread the posts through, drops + not-particularly-dainty-earlobes + oversized earnuts = a very tight fit!


Sparkly - no, I don't sleep in them, I just feel uncomfortable sleeping in any jewellery.

 

[Andelain]

Hmm...I measured just for you, my danielM posts are 8.61mms by the calipers they're very comfortable. The only downside is drops which you need to thread the posts through, drops + not-particularly-dainty-earlobes + oversized earnuts = a very tight fit!


Sparkly - no, I don't sleep in them, I just feel uncomfortable sleeping in any jewellery.

I'm glad you mentioned drops, since they're very likely in my future. That means I'll have to leave a bit of length on the posts, but I think .5 to 1 mm should be plenty of extra length. I just put one of my BGD's in backward and pushed the back up snug as I like and now I see why they drive me nuts. Almost 4mm of post sticking out!

 

[yssie]

I would definitely think 1mm is plenty, esp if your earnuts snap in so you don't have to worry about them loosening and slipping off.. screwbacks, say, I'd leave those long.

 

[stci]

Ah, you're not alone!

I too prefer shorter posts - longer ones poke at me when I hold a phone or lie down. Wouldn't recommend the snippers unless you've still got some of that ol' sandpaper lying around though, you probably don't want to make stakes

Excuse me... what is (are) "snippers" please?

 

[Andelain]

Yssie - I don't know about you, but if you gave me screwbacks for free I'd have the stones remounted so fast your head would spin. Those things hurt!

Ah, you're not alone!

I too prefer shorter posts - longer ones poke at me when I hold a phone or lie down. Wouldn't recommend the snippers unless you've still got some of that ol' sandpaper lying around though, you probably don't want to make stakes

Excuse me... what is (are) "snippers" please?

Tin snips. Wire cutters. I'm looking at the wire cutter on my Gerber multi-tool and am seriously thinking about it...............

 

[yssie]

Yssie - I don't know about you, but if you gave me screwbacks for free I'd have the stones remounted so fast your head would spin. Those things hurt!

oh I'm with you!

 

[texaskj]

Andelain, I have little bitty ears and have snipped more earrrings than I can remember. Posts, hooks, you name it; I also had to cut one off because the back was cemented on! The snips do leave a nasty jagged end. I've always had really good luck with the files I use on my acrylic nails to sand them down.

 

[Andelain]

Andelain, I have little bitty ears and have snipped more earrrings than I can remember. Posts, hooks, you name it; I also had to cut one off because the back was cemented on! The snips do leave a nasty jagged end. I've always had really good luck with the files I use on my acrylic nails to sand them down.

I just happen to have a nail file that was cheap, so I don't care if I destroy it....................

Thanks for the suggestion.


Yssie, I remember a thread in here asking which was preferred and frictions beat the screwbacks by like 10-1, mostly for the same reasons. I tried one on in the hole I've had for over 35 years and even that hurt to put on.

 

[stci]

Thank you for definition Andelain.

But if you cut or buff you stud earrings, will you loose the little space to grab the Friction Post?

 

[Fly Girl]

Thank you for definition Andelain.

But if you cut or buff you stud earrings, will you loose the little space to grab the Friction Post?

My guess is that Andelain could take a file and had new little spaces for the friction post.

I hear you about the long posts. Certainly some posts are made too long. In addition, I wonder if some folks have thinner ear lobes than others?

 

[Gypsy]

This is so funny. We were in a jewelry store and tried on a pair of earrings with short posts and it bugged the crud out of me. We asked if they could get in the longer posts and they looked at us like we were insane until we pulled out our own earrings and showed them the length of the (standard unaltered) posts.

Strange how everyone is different!

 

[TimMD]

I bought my daughter diamond studs (0.4 ctw) for her 6th birthday from Brilliance and requested the posts be made shorter as they were for my daughter. They didn't seem it was strange at all and the posts were 7.5mm when I got them, made since to me because they were adult settings for a little girl so I guess it was "normal" to request that. The didn't charge me any extra either.

 

[denverappraiser]

It's easy to make them shorter. It's a PIA to make them longer. Manufacturers know this and since they don't know who the final customer is going to be they start by making them long enough for pretty much everybody and then let the jeweler make the adjustment if needed. Talk to your jeweler about it.

 

[geckodani]

I wear a headset all day at work, and my scattered diamond hoops from WF would dig into my neck (they seem to have long posts). I solved the problem by using plastic backs. They cover the end of the post, and while still press against my neck when the headset is on, I don't feel like I have an angry mosquito on my ear all day anymore.

Here's the link to where I get mine: http://www.artbeads.com/clutch-02.html

I don't sleep in my jewelry either, but that's just a personal preference.

 

[Andelain]

Thank you for definition Andelain.

But if you cut or buff you stud earrings, will you loose the little space to grab the Friction Post?

My guess is that Andelain could take a file and had new little spaces for the friction post.

I hear you about the long posts. Certainly some posts are made too long. In addition, I wonder if some folks have thinner ear lobes than others?

Yep, Fly Girl, that's exactly what I intend to do. I'm not sure exactly how yet, but that's my plan.

denver appraiser, that does make sense about being able to shorten, not lengthen. I guess it just surprised that I talked to two vendors in the past two days and they both seemed surprised by my request to shorten the posts. Made me wonder if I'm the only person in the world besides Yssie with thin earlobes. And mine don't look any thinner than most people's I've looked at.

geckodani, those do look like an interesting option. Do they hold securely? I'm just a little leery of trusting plastic to hold a diamond secure. They might work for my WF's, but the BGD posts are so long that the diamonds would flop all around with them on. That pair doesn't matter because I'm getting rid of the settings once I decide what to do with the stones.
And NO, I'm not mailing them to the next person to post in this thread!

 

[risingsun]

Another question about the length of post backs. How long would you need them to be if you want to have earring jackets? I've been considering some jackets, but don't know if my posts are long enough.

 

[OECrystal]

I have petite/thin earlobes so when I ordered my BGD studs, I asked for shorter posts. There was definitely some doubt from BGD that the length I requested would be too short, so they added .5 mm to the length I requested. Mine are 7.5mm. Still a little long for me but manageable. I cannot imagine having 9.5-10.5mm posts! I actually find children's size earrings to be the perfect fit for my ears.