Earrings?

[Ms. Freya]

Lately I've gotten a second piercing in my ears and it's brought to light a problem I'd forgotten about: I react to something in most 'fashion' jewelery, so I can't wear earrings that aren't gold, surgical stainless steel or high quality silver...which apparently means I can't buy earrings in any of the stores I know of unless I'm willing to shell out $300 a pair (I'm not). The irony is that I can find every other piece of body jewelery known to man in stainless steel, but not earrings.

So, my question to everyone here: where do you by them?

I'd really like to have more variety than the 6 pairs I keep switch around, especially now since I wear 2 pairs at a time.

 

[nerdrock]

I'm pretty sure we sell them at work (I work in a drugstore that has a beauty boutique in it). If I'm remember correctly, they're between $10-20 - some are not what you're looking for, but others are. 

Have you checked with stores that sell other body piercings (belly button rings, etc) to see if they can order you something? 

What kind of gold does it need to be? 

 

[catlover19]

I used to work at Claire's accessories and they sold gold and sterling silver earrings. My MIL can't wear fashion earrings either and she is fine with these ones. They were between $10-$30 a pair, but if you got ones that are marked down, they would be 50% off. I'm not sure where in Ontario you are from, but there are a lot of Claire's stores around. 

If you go there, they may try to tell you to buy their regular earrings because they are nickel free and wont bother your ears. I would suggest not buying those because you will probably still have a reaction to them, a lot of people do (including me). 

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I can't wear anything but gold anymore.  I used to when I was in my early teens; then it all started breaking me out in some terrible eczema.  I even have to watch the buttons inside my jeans where they touch my skin!  Crazy!

I get DD's earrings from Piercing Pagoda.  They did her ear piercing there when she was little.  I only buy her gold like me.  I think both pairs I got were in the $40-$50 range. 

 

[jcat]

I can't even wear surgical steel, silver or anything below 12 carat gold, so I keep an eye out for sales. Sometimes Amazon has 14 carat gold at drastically reduced prices, but you have to read all the reviews.

 

[Ms. Freya]

Thanks for the suggestions - I hadn't thought of trying one of the big drugstores. My neighbour's daughter actually owns a piercing and tatto parlour, maybe I'll ask. Piercing Pagoda only seems to be in the US, but they seem tobe affiliated with Icing, which has a shop near me, so maybe I'll try them 

I'm actually okay with pretty much any gold as far as I can tell - most of my stuff is 14k, but I can wear 10k gold plated as long as the plating is over surgical steel. I'm not sure what I react to, but I know it's not just nickel. I keep thinking I should be brave and try some of the sterling silver, but silver is so hit-and-miss for me. Usually I cheat and get mom to make me earrings (she makes gorgeous jewelery, but I do want some simple studs and sleepers).

 

[gemlady]

How do you do with gold filled earrrings? (A layer of karat gold, usually 12k or 10k, is applied to a base metal. The amount of gold is thicker than regular plating.)

There is also vermeil which is gold plated over sterling silver.

With the drastic increase in precious metal prices I plan to make earrings using sterling and gold filled earwires, with the rest of the piece in base metals.

 

[Ms. Freya]

How do you do with gold filled earrrings? (A layer of karat gold, usually 12k or 10k, is applied to a base metal. The amount of gold is thicker than regular plating.)
There is also vermeil which is gold plated over sterling silver.
With the drastic increase in precious metal prices I plan to make earrings using sterling and gold filled earwires, with the rest of the piece in base metals.

I haven't tried gold filled, but I'd probably be okay since I can wear plated as long as the base is stainless. I've also not tried vermeil, although I've looked at it. I'm leary because silver is so hit-and-miss for me, but I may just have to get over that and give it a try.

 

[meowmmy_aprile]

I have this problem too. My ears will itch, swell and I get little like burn blisters around the hole.

I have had good luck with silver and fashion earrings from fashion bug. A trick my allergy doctor told me to try was coating the posts with 2 coats of clear nail polish before I wear them if I am uncertain of the metal type. So far it seems to work well and I can tell when I need to clean them and recoat them because I start to itch when I put them in.

 

[aimerlee]

I buy a lot of my jewelry off etsy. A lot of sellers make high quality earrings out of good metals. I'm allergic to nickel so I can't wear a lot of cheap jewelry either, but nothing I've gotten from etsy sellers has bothered me as long as it's made with the right material.

Here are some links!

http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade...s+steel+earrings&view_type=gallery&ship_to=US

http://www.etsy.com/search/handmade...er=most_relevant&ship_to=US&view_type=gallery

 

[x2006nkg]

A piercing studio should have some there, or should be able to order some in. I've gotten some at Claires before, and if you keep your eye open you can get them on markdown (as mentioned above lol)

 

[capt_jordi]

I can only wear sterling or gold in my top hole but my bottom hole is fine... weird I know. I usually buy my stuff at Claires though
 

I can't even wear surgical steel, silver or anything below 12 carat gold, so I keep an eye out for sales. Sometimes Amazon has 14 carat gold at drastically reduced prices, but you have to read all the reviews.

How do you do with gold filled earrrings? (A layer of karat gold, usually 12k or 10k, is applied to a base metal. The amount of gold is thicker than regular plating.)
There is also vermeil which is gold plated over sterling silver.
With the drastic increase in precious metal prices I plan to make earrings using sterling and gold filled earwires, with the rest of the piece in base metals.

I work in jewelry business and a bit of info:

Karats of gold: 10, 14, 18, 21, 22, 24

Other common ways gold is labeled:

10kt or 417

14kt or 585

18kt or 750

10 and 14 are most common. White gold is 90% of the time 10 or 14. 18kt white gold tends to be fake or extremely expensive. 21, 22, and 24 are more common in the middle east, Egypt, and Asia.

12kt is fake!

If it has a fraction in it, it is plated. (Example: 1/20 10kt)

If it has the following it is plated:

   HGE = Heavy Gold Electroplated

   GF = Gold Filled

   GE = Gold electroplated

Other ways to tell are if it doesnt have a mark on it, plated. If it said clad, plated. If it is magnetic, plated. If it looks very orange, most likely plated. If it said gold over, plated

Also if you are interested in selling gold remember the price you see on the stock market is 24KT gold. 10kt is 41.7% gold, 14kt is 58.5% gold, 18kt is 75% gold.

 

[speakhandsforme]

I would order online. :nod: I have a couple of body piercings and while I don't react to anything, I've been shopping around for some new jewelry and most places I see have a variety of metal options.

Are you familiar with Bioplast? it's some sort of plastic that they use to make body jewelry for those that are allergic. You have to be careful with it though because from what I hear there are fake brands that aren't of the same craftsmanship quality.... and unaware people have ended up with tiny plastic burrs in their brand new piercing from the fake brand.

 

[jcat]

I work in jewelry business and a bit of info:

Karats of gold: 10, 14, 18, 21, 22, 24

Other common ways gold is labeled:

10kt or 417

14kt or 585

18kt or 750

10 and 14 are most common. White gold is 90% of the time 10 or 14. 18kt white gold tends to be fake or extremely expensive. 21, 22, and 24 are more common in the middle east, Egypt, and Asia.

12kt is fake!

If it has a fraction in it, it is plated. (Example: 1/20 10kt)

If it has the following it is plated:

HGE = Heavy Gold Electroplated

GF = Gold Filled

GE = Gold electroplated

Other ways to tell are if it doesnt have a mark on it, plated. If it said clad, plated. If it is magnetic, plated. If it looks very orange, most likely plated. If it said gold over, plated



Also if you are interested in selling gold remember the price you see on the stock market is 24KT gold. 10kt is 41.7% gold, 14kt is 58.5% gold, 18kt is 75% gold.

If 12 carat is fake, I'm glad I didn't buy the stuff I have myself. I got some 10, but can't wear them more than a few hours. Two pairs are 18 carat and way too soft. 14 is just right; 14 carat white gold earrings are a bit hard to find, though.

ETA: I just had to look at the insurance assessment when I came home. The earrings I have are 12 carat yellow gold, made in the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the late 19th century, probably 1880s. There's also a ladies dress watch listed as platinum with 12 k gold filling, pre-WWI.

 

[momto3boys]

Boy, did I stumble across this thread at the right time. I am actually going to get my ears pierced tomorrow for the 3rd time, hopeing this time I can get them to heal

The first time, just went and had them done with a gun and whatever earings, nothing special.....couldnt get them healed AT ALL. blisters, blood, puss, couldn't even sleep on my side at all, my whole ear was red, this went on for WEEKS. Tried every pointment, solution on the market.

So I waited a few yrs and paid more for the "hypo allergenic" or whatever the heck it's called, SAME ******* thing,

So now tomorrow I have an appointment at a body piercing place, being done with a needle and hopefully some better earings that I wont have a reaction to.  Mom had them done when I was a baby and she said even then they had to put real gold sleepers in my ears because I was reacting to the little studs.

Im glad Im not the only ones out there that has this problem.

 

[gemlady]

 12kt is fake!

12k is a fake? First I have heard that.
All my suppliers have 12k GF in stock and I have been buying it for almost 35 years now.

 

[trouts mom]

I have the same problem, an allergy to nickel.

I always wear white gold earrings but I only have one special pair that DH got for me. Unfortunately they were not cheap but I wear them every day and have them insured so it's worth it to me.

 

[momto3boys]

I've just googles it and NOWHERE does it say 12k gold is fake.

* Here*s A Quick Guide To Gold *Purity*

24K gold is pure gold.

18K gold contains 18 parts gold and 6 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 75% gold.

14K gold contains 14 parts gold and 10 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 58.3% gold.

12K gold contains 12 parts gold and 12 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 50% gold.

10K gold contains 10 parts gold and 14 parts of one or more additional metals, making it 41.7% gold. 10K gold is the minimum karat that can be called *gold* in the United States.

This is from here http://www.wheretoselljewelry.com/gold-jewelry-is-it-real-or-fake

There is lots and lots of charts and websites on gold.

 

[Ms. Freya]

Boy, did I stumble across this thread at the right time. I am actually going to get my ears pierced tomorrow for the 3rd time, hopeing this time I can get them to heal

The first time, just went and had them done with a gun and whatever earings, nothing special.....couldnt get them healed AT ALL. blisters, blood, puss, couldn't even sleep on my side at all, my whole ear was red, this went on for WEEKS. Tried every pointment, solution on the market.

So I waited a few yrs and paid more for the "hypo allergenic" or whatever the heck it's called, SAME ******* thing,

So now tomorrow I have an appointment at a body piercing place, being done with a needle and hopefully some better earings that I wont have a reaction to.  Mom had them done when I was a baby and she said even then they had to put real gold sleepers in my ears because I was reacting to the little studs.

Im glad Im not the only ones out there that has this problem.

You might want to ask them if they can pierce with a hoop earring instead of a stud. Some people have a lot of trouble with the butterfly sitting against the back of the ear in a new piercing. It doesn't let the skin breathe and can get infected - a hoop lets the ear breathe and lowers that chance of infection a bit . You also don't have to touch the ear as much to turn a hoop. Most people are okay with a stud, but if you already know you've had problems, I'd try a hoop this time around.

 

[momto3boys]

Yup, I am using a stud and it's being pierced with a needle this time instead of a gun.