The Joy of Ear Jackets

Rhodolite Garnet and White Sapphire Gold Ear Jackets

Ear jackets are decorative earring parts that fit onto stud earrings. These may be backings that are visible from the front or extra parts that sit between the stud and backing. New ways to wear jewelry are always welcomed and ear jackets are a fashionable new twist on normal stud earrings. The backs of earrings used to be something meant to be concealed neatly behind the ear, but ear jackets allow the backs of earrings to be seen in a whole new light. In fact, earring backings have now become an accessory.

Ear jackets can peek out from behind the ear lobe and accentuate the stud at the front of the earlobe. They may also shift the focus to the back of the earrings or have a design that gives equal focus to the front and the back of the ear. Ear jackets may also increase the versatility of earrings, allowing simple studs to be worn in several ways.

The crescent shape is suited to the shape of the earlobe. Therefore, many ear jacket designs take this form and hug the bottom of the ear lobe. Some have a pretty crescent of gemstones behind a single gemstone stud. Others have letters that spell out a word, such as "love" or a person's name. Alternative designs include spiked jackets or arrows that appear to pierce the ear.

Pearl Double Stud Earrings

Another popular style of ear jacket is a double stud. These have a similar, but larger backing, so that the backing shows as a large sphere behind the ear (see image, left). The part behind the ear is often around four times bigger than the front stud. Spherical gemstones, such as pearls are ideal for this. Double studs may have a semi-hoop attached to the backing so that the stud at the back hangs down slightly to be admired. These are also known as stud/hoop earrings. Other styles include precious metal spheres, with small, closely-set gemstones. Unique modern styles may use a spherical gemstone at the front and a cube-shaped jacket at the back, or two cubes that are slightly off-center.

Ear jackets can appear like dangle earrings, with long parts that hang down. This adds a little interest to stud earrings and breaks them out of the usual mold. Such ear jackets that have a larger backing than front can help to balance out a large forehead and small chin. However, such large ear jackets may make a prominent jaw a little bottom-heavy.

Green Apatite and Gold Earring Jacket

Some stud earrings have a separate piece that can be slipped over the stem at the front or before the back (see image, right). This means that they can be worn as a simple stud or with the jacket; so the jacket can make two different pairs of earrings from a single pair. These versatile pieces can be worn with any stud earrings, which opens up the possibilities for mixing and matching earring sets. These items can change simple studs into dangle earrings, hoops or drops. These are usually referred to as "earring enhancers" or "earring jackets", rather than "ear jackets".

For those who are bored with traditional ear jewelry, ear jackets are definitely worth considering as another option. Additionally, those who are not keen on dangle earrings, but would like something half-way between these and studs should definitely discover the joy of ear jackets to show off their lovely lobes.