Choose hoop earrings by three things, in this order: size, thickness and metal. Size decides how much the hoop frames your face, from a small hoop that sits close to the lobe to a large one that reaches towards the jaw. Thickness decides whether it reads as a fine line or a bold shape. The metal, and any plating over it, decides the colour and how you look after it. Settle those three and the rest, plain or embellished, is a matter of mood.
How Are Hoop Earrings Measured?
Most hoops are described by their inner diameter: the width of the open space inside the circle, in millimetres. It is the most useful number, because it tells you how far the hoop will fall below the lobe. Some pieces give an overall length instead, measured from the top of the earring to the bottom, which includes the metal itself and any fastening.
As a rough guide, a hoop of about 10 to 12 mm sits close to the lobe, around 15 to 20 mm is the everyday medium, and anything from about 30 mm upwards begins to read as a large hoop. If you have a pair you already love, measure the space inside it with a ruler; it is the quickest way to know what you are choosing. Where a piece below gives a measurement, we quote it.
Small Hoops and Huggie-Style Earrings
A small hoop is the easiest to live in. It sits near the lobe, stays clear of collars and scarves, and is as comfortable at a desk as it is at dinner. The closest-fitting small hoops are often called huggies, because they hug the lobe, and they suit a second or third piercing as well as a first.
Stroili's Steel Three-Quarter Hoop Earrings are a small hoop with presence: high-polish steel in a three-quarter circle, 12 mm across the inside, with a butterfly back. Their Steel Hoop Earrings are smaller still, 1.2 cm long, with interlocking loops inspired by a knot. For a little light close to the ear, Stroili's Rose Gold Semi-Hoop Earrings set clear crystals in rose gold-plated metal, in a semi-hoop shape that sits close to the lobe on a stud fitting.
Medium Hoops for Every Day
A medium hoop is the one most of us reach for. It is large enough to be seen and small enough to go with everything, and it is where thickness starts to matter. A fine band is quiet and modern; a thicker band looks more substantial at the same size, and a double hoop adds depth without adding width.
Stroili's Sterling Silver Hoop Earrings show the plain medium hoop at its simplest: polished 925 sterling silver in a thick band, 15 mm inside and 1.8 cm long, with a bayonet clasp and a weight of 2.5 g. Their Gold-Plated Half Hoop Earrings are the same 15 mm inside, with a ribbed surface and a butterfly back; a half hoop shows the front of the circle and fastens like a stud. Giovanni Raspini's Textured Double Hoop Earrings layer two hand-textured circles of sterling silver, finished with rhodium plating and a post closure. Morellato's Gold Double Hoop Earrings take the same idea in a warmer colour: sterling silver with gold plating, on post backs.
- Sterling Silver Hoop Earrings
- Gold-Plated Half Hoop Earrings
- Textured Double Hoop Earrings
- Gold Double Hoop Earrings
Large Hoops, Thickness and Texture
A large hoop is a statement, and it is at its best with a simple outfit and hair worn up or back. The larger the hoop, the more its weight matters, so look for the stated weight where it is given and choose a lighter construction for a full day's wear. Texture helps a large hoop too: a surface that catches the light looks richer from a distance than a plain polish.
Stroili's Sterling Silver Textured Hoop Earrings are the large hoop in this edit: 925 sterling silver, 40 mm inside, with a softly textured surface, a bayonet clasp and a weight of 4.4 g. Twisted and engraved surfaces do a similar job on a slimmer hoop. Guess's Silver Twisted Hoop Earrings are slender hoops in silver-tone stainless steel with a subtle twist and a hinge closure. Stroili's Stainless Steel Half Hoop Earrings twist the steel like a rope, on a butterfly back, and Guess's Textured Silver Hoop Earrings carry an engraved pattern on silver-tone metal.
- Sterling Silver Textured Hoop Earrings
- Silver Twisted Hoop Earrings
- Stainless Steel Half Hoop Earrings
- Textured Silver Hoop Earrings
Embellished Hoops: Stones and Detail
An embellished hoop moves the earring towards evening. Small stones set along the front of the hoop catch the light as you turn your head; a pavé setting, where many small stones sit close together, gives an almost continuous line of sparkle. The plainer the outfit, the more an embellished hoop can do on its own.
Stroili's Sterling Silver Hoop Earrings with pavé detail set four round brilliant cubic zirconia stones along the front of a 925 sterling silver hoop, 15 mm inside, with a snap clasp. Morellato's Silver Hoop Earrings are stainless steel in a chain-link shape, with small clear stones set into the links. Guess's Silver Crystal Hoop Earrings carry a pavé of tiny crystals on silver-tone metal, on a stud backing, and Sense's Sterling Silver Hoop Earrings set small crystals along a 925 sterling silver hoop, finished with a post back.
- Sterling Silver Hoop Earrings
- Silver Hoop Earrings
- Silver Crystal Hoop Earrings
- Sterling Silver Hoop Earrings
Metal, Plating and Fastenings
Read the material line on each piece before anything else. Sterling silver, marked 925, is 92.5 per cent silver. Gold-plated and rose gold-plated pieces have a thin plated layer over another metal, sometimes silver, sometimes a base metal. Rhodium plating is a bright white finish often used over silver. Stainless steel, or steel, is a hard-wearing metal with a cool, silver colour. Gold-tone and silver-tone describe a colour, not a precious metal. In this guide we call every piece exactly what its details say it is, and nothing more.
Fastenings differ as well. Hinged, snap and bayonet clasps close the hoop on itself, which keeps the circle unbroken. A post with a butterfly back fastens like a stud, which is how most half and three-quarter hoops are worn. To keep any hoop at its best, put it on after perfume and creams have settled, take it off before swimming or showering, and store it on its own so harder pieces cannot scratch it; plated finishes especially are best kept away from water and scent.
If you are still deciding between metals, Gold or Silver: How to Choose Your Jewellery Metal sets out the choice, and Sterling Silver, Plating and Cubic Zirconia Explained covers the terms in more depth. To see hoops beside studs, drops and huggies, read Studs, Hoops, Drops or Huggies: Which Earrings Suit You?
In Short
Choose the size first, by inner diameter: small and close to the lobe for every day, medium for almost everything, large when the earrings are the point of the look. Then choose the thickness and surface, plain or textured, single or double, and finally the metal, read exactly as the piece describes it. If you are buying your first pair, begin with a plain medium hoop, around 15 mm inside, in the metal you already wear most.
