A Comprehensive Guide Types of Mens Earrings

Introduction

Men wearing earrings has evolved from a niche trend to full acceptance. Many earring sales are driven by male customers in the 18 to 35-year-old age bracket, such as musicians, athletes, and professionals using types of male earrings suited to their needs.

This transition creates opportunities for jewelry retailers and manufacturers. In this guide, we help jewelry retailers break down the types of mens earrings choice. We discuss stone and metal choices, design components, and reasons for their individual requests to help find a good selection for you to put in stock.

The Classic & Timeless: Studs

For many men, studs are a good start because they can work in almost any setting. The round shape of studs typically fits is more versatile with face shapes than the square or rectangle shapes that better suit someone with a round face and provide angles.

Sizes of studs are from 2mm to 8mm , and smaller sizes (2-4mm) generally are appropriate for conservative settings. Sizes such as 4-6mm are a good blend of visibility and conservative-professional can actually be appropriate. Sizes like 6-8mm can show a more bold statement.

Common Types

Diamond studs are still the most common type of men’s earrings style. Natural diamonds have a better resale value than lab diamonds, but many customers prefer to go with lab diamonds due to cost.

Black diamond or onyx stud earrings will appeal to guys who want to wear something with some sparkle without having a classic diamond look. The matte black surface pairs well with both casual and formal looks.

Metal studs typically provide the lowest-cost entry; brushed finishes are preferable, as they hide scratches better than polished finishes.

Small logo or shaped studs allow customers to display affinity to brands or interests. The popular shapes are stars, crosses, lightning bolts, and company logos. Custom shapes usually have a minimum of 100 – 500 pieces minimum, depending on the complexity of the shape.

Best For

For study’s daily wear, men ages 25-45 are overwhelmingly choose studs. Our research has shown that office workers like that they can wear studs because they don’t catch and weren’t loosely dangling all day. Students and young professionals commonly wear studs to assess legitimacy in a workplace before trying anything bold.

The Bold & Edgy: Hoops

Hoops, as a style of earring, are circular and span from pierce to pierced earring, they catch light and draw attention to the face. Hoops come in a range of sizes starting from 10mm huggie style, to 50mm+ statement pieces.

Common Types

Small, thin huggie hoops (10-15mm diameter, 1-2mm wire thickness) generally sit close to the earlobe and only move a minimal amount. Huggie hoops are ideal for men who want the look of hoops without having to worry about an workplace dress code as they take a different form.

Classic, medium-sized hoops average 20-30mm diameter and 2-3mm wire thickness. This size creates the classic look of hoop that most people are familiar with. They reflect more light than huggies and move when a person walks, quite noticeably.

Thick or chunky hoops use a wire diameter of 4-8 mm to emphasize the look, depending on the width of the hoop. They tend to weigh more than thin hoops but create a bold-style outfit. It’s popular among musicians and artists.

Best For

Creative individuals and fashionable men use hoops as a source of self-expression. Hoops soften the look of angular faces.

The best supporters of hoop earrings are the short hairdo and the “no hair” covering the ears. Very large, very open hoops can get caught up in the longer straight, or curly styles, while in movement or action.

The Modern & Unique: Dangles & Drops

Dangle earrings are earrings that hang below the earlobe and can move independently of the ear with head motion. The unique movement articulated by body dynamics makes dangles the most conspicuous kind of earring that a guy can wear.

Common Types

A single chain dangle includes one chain that hangs from a stud or hoop base. The chain length is anywhere from 1 cm to 4 cm. Fine chains represent elegant looks whereas chunky chains tend to be more masculine.

Cross, feather, or symbol drops are chains with symbolic pendants that are attached to ear wires or ear posts. Universal religious crosses are very popular; feathers (indicating freedom) are popular; tribal symbols are next. Religious symbols connect directly with certain customer groups, as do tribal symbols, and even feathers have specific meanings in some worlds.

Tassel or threader earrings have many thin chains or threads that hang and flutter in space. Threaders have long hooks that go completely through the piercing. Threader earrings can be tricky to put in, but they offer interesting visual effects.

Best For

A widely used type of style for artists, musicians, and creative types are dangle styles – a movement aspect and uniqueness of dangles is a form of expressing one’s personality. Men in traditional professional careers usually leave the dangles for the weekends or when off the clock.

The Versatile & Subtle: Barbells & Plugs

Barbells consist of long, straight bars of metal with removable balls, or other adornments on either end. While barbells were originally designed to pierce body parts, now they can be found in regular ear piercings too. A barbells straight line gives it a clean, industrial aesthetic.

Plugs and tunnels are found for stretched ear piercings. Plugs will fill the stretched hole, while tunnels create a hollow center. Both plugs and tunnels require ear stretching slowly over the course of months or even years..

Common Types

Simple barbells are the simplest style. The balls can either be smooth, textured, or some form of decoration.

Black plugs give solid color coverage for stretched ears. The options in black includes surgical stainless steel with black coating, natural obsidian, or black acrylic. Sizes start at a 2mm gauge, through the maximum of 25mm+ for extreme stretches.

Plugs made out of wood, stone, or silicone are other natural options to metal plugs. Wooden plugged developed some pretty magnificent grain over time. Stone plugs might include jasper, tiger’s eye, and turquoise. Silicone plugs offer some flexibility and comfort while actively wearing.

Best For

Men participating in alternative fashion, punk, or metal music tend to choose plugs and barbells more often than rings. Mechanics, tattoo artists, and others appreciated this ‘industrial’ look, which they seemed to prefer. Younger consumers, ages 18-28, represent the majority of this demographics who purchase these body jewelry styles.

Materials: What Men’s Earrings Are Made Of

Choosing a material impacts price, durability, and skin compatibility. Most men prefer materials that require little to no maintenance and are damage resistant to daily wear and tear.

Metals

Sterling silver is on average 92.5% pure silver and other metals for strength. Like other metals, sterling silver tarnishes with exposure, however, it can be polished to its original state. Furthermore, sterling silver compatibility is ideal for most people’s skin types, and its cost is less than gold.

Platinum has the greatest durability and hypoallergenic properties. It will not tarnish or fade, and its white color is permanent. Although platinum costs 3-4x more than gold, it lasts decades longer.

Stainless steel is good value for purposes of this men’s earring guide. Surgical-grade 316L stainless steel will resist corrosion, scratches, and reactions to the skin. With very little care, the appearance will be retained.

Stones

CZ is a great quality stone that will remain clear and brilliant many years, should it be well cared. Great for the man who wants the look of diamond without the luxurious price.

Obsidian is formed from volcanic glass when lava cools quickly and creates deep black colors. The surface will be smooth and reflect light without sparkle. Obsidian would be great for a gothic or alternative style. The natural variation creates a unique piece each time.

Tiger’s Eye shows moving golden-brown bands with the chatoyant effect in different lighting situations. The chatoyant look gives visual interest, but without the sparkle. Tiger’s Eye is popular with men; typically those who appreciate earth tones and strongly rely on natural materials.

Onyx offers solid black with maybe some white bands crossed through it. The matte finish on Onyx doesn’t reflect light as polished stones do. Onyx typically is set in a silver or gold setting and can be worn casually or dressed.

Turquois, the vibrant blue-green hues and natural matrix coloration of turquoise is very eye-catching. While the stone is relatively soft and needs to handled with care, the bright contrasting colors create striking pieces of jewelry! Turquoise is a popular stone for southwestern-style and bohemian-style earrings.

Popular Design Elements for Men’s Earrings

Skulls

Skull images are tied to rock music, motorcycle culture, and gothic clothing style. Skulls can be very realistic, with anatomical detail, or they can be stylized illustrations. Small skull stud earrings are enough to reference skulls with subtlety, while large skull dangle earrings refer to skulls in vivid detail.

Metal skulls can have gemstone eyes that can shine. Onyx or red garnet eyes can be eye-catching.

Geometric Patterns

In regard to aesthetics, clean lines and mathematical shapes appeal to contemporary men, particularly those who find minimalist aesthetics appealing. Examples of popular geometric shapes are triangles, hexagons, spirals, and interlocking designs. Examples of sacred geometric shapes include the flower of life, the golden ratio spirals, وت platonic solids. For some customers, these represent more than just visual patterns, for others they appreciate the visual symmetry.

Cultural and Religious Symbols

• Cross variations include Latin, Orthodox, Celtic, and contemporary styles. Different Christian denominations use different styles of cross. The plain crosses appeal to everyone, while the ornate crosses appeal to individual groups.

• Tribal design styles are drawn from many indigenous cultures around the world. Maori, Native American, and Celtic tribal styles remain popular selections. Respectful design interpretation is also important to avoid cultural appropriation but appreciate the traditional artistry.

Linear or Strip Shapes

Straight lines and rectangular forms will create a masculine, industrial look. Vertical lines will naturally lengthen an object or face while horizontal lines will add girth. The clean lines and hard geometry exude professionalism, becoming good partners in men’s earrings.

Variations of the texture could include hammered finishes, brushed finishes, or engraved lines that provide some visual interest without affecting the linear form.

Irregular Shapes

The organic forms derived from nature can be from shapes of leaves, river stones, or abstract fluid shapes. The organic shapes contrast with geometrically precise shapes and attract artistic types. 

The abstract art influences lead to unique, original appearances. Irregular shapes are ideal for handmade men’s earrings, where slight variations give character.

Engraving and Carving

Personalization concepts can involve adding names, dates, coordinates or meaningful phrases. Custom engraving can create emotional associations and increase perceived value for your customers. Many men are willing to pay 20- 40% more for personalized pieces.

Conclusion

Men’s earrings have developed beyond plain studs into style categories to satisfy diverse needs. Studs are still the mainstay for new male earring wearers or professional environments. Hoops offer a bold statement for the fashionably creative. Dangles provide the most personal expression as they can sway and represent meaning. Barbells and plugs serve the alternative fashion and body modification crowd.

OOTB can provide you with customized men’s earrings in different materials and ideas so you can inventory types of earrings to service many market segments. Contact us if you’re interested in wholesale pricing, minimum orders, and custom production of your men’s earrings.