You'll wear your diamond studs almost every day, so four questions are worth settling before you buy: how many carats, which setting holds the stone, which cut suits you, and whether a lab-grown diamond or a natural diamond sits on your ear. Here are the answers, calmly and in order. You'll find every style in our diamond earrings collection.
How many carats should diamond stud earrings have?
One rule first: at ANNARELLE, the carat weight always refers to the pair, not to a single stone. 1 carat means two diamonds of 0.5 carats each. Not everyone handles it the same way, so when you compare, always ask: total or per ear?
| Total weight | Per ear | On the ear |
|---|---|---|
| 0.5 ct | 0.25 ct | a bright point, subtle and easy to wear every day |
| 1 ct | 0.5 ct | clearly visible without taking over |
| 1.5 ct | 0.75 ct | a clear presence, a statement even by day |
| 2 ct | 1 ct | one carat on each ear, for anyone who wants to show the light |
For every day, 0.5 to 1 carat total works well: the diamond is there when you move and steps back when you talk. From 1.5 carats total, the stone becomes the focal point, even at the office. The Essentiel Diamond Stud Earrings with 4 Prongs come in all four weights, from 0.5 to 2 carats total.
Carat describes weight, not beauty alone. How much light a diamond returns also depends on cut, color and clarity. Our article on the 4 Cs explains how the four work together.
Four or six prongs, halo or bezel
The setting decides how much of the stone you see and how it sits on your ear.
Four prongs hold the diamond at four points. Little gold, a lot of stone: the setting almost disappears. This is how the Essentiel studs are made.
Six prongs hold the stone from six sides. From the front it looks rounder, and it is held at more points. This is the setting of the Classique diamond studs.
Three prongs suit shapes with a point, as with the pear cut of the Poire Pear Stud Earrings and the heart cut of the Coeur Heart Stud Earrings. They hold the stone and leave its outline free.
Halo means a ring of small diamonds surrounds the center stone. The Belle Halo Stud Earrings have a 0.5-carat diamond at the center of each ear, surrounded by 14 smaller stones, 1.3 carats in total. The halo catches extra light and makes the center stone look larger.
Bezel means a rim of gold encloses the diamond completely. Nothing sticks out, nothing catches in your hair or your scarf. This is how the studs in the RONDE line are set, with 1 or 1.5 carats total.
Brilliant, pear or heart cut
The brilliant cut is the classic round cut for diamond studs. Its facets are arranged so the stone gathers light and returns it as sparkle. Worth knowing when you search: a brilliant is not a separate stone but a diamond in this cut. The Trois studs even carry three small brilliant-cut diamonds per ear, in a straight line.
The pear cut is round at one end and pointed at the other. On the ear it lengthens the line a little, as with the Poire Pear Stud Earrings at 1 carat total.
The heart cut shows the motif clearly and without sentimentality, as in the Coeur Heart Stud Earrings.
You'll find two more cuts in special designs: the emerald cut, paired with a pear, in the Duet Toi et Moi Stud Earrings, and the marquise, five per ear arranged into a bloom, in the Fleur Bloom Stud Earrings.
Yellow gold or white gold
Our diamond studs come in yellow or white gold, colored stones also in rose gold, always in solid 14 or 18 karat gold. 18 karat means 750 parts gold out of 1,000, 14 karat means 585. White gold makes a white diamond look cool and crisp; yellow gold frames it with warmth and goes well with the gold you already wear.
The back
Our studs close with butterfly backs. They sit securely.
Lab-grown or natural diamond
Lab-grown diamonds, also called laboratory-grown diamonds, are diamonds created in a laboratory. A lab-grown diamond is pure carbon, rates 10 on the Mohs hardness scale and is graded on cut, color, clarity and carat weight. A natural diamond formed deep in the earth. Which origin you choose is a personal decision, and both are good choices.
The lab-grown diamonds in our studs are D to F in color and VS or better in clarity. The Essentiel Naturel Stud Earrings carry natural diamonds in H color and SI1 clarity, always set in 18 karat gold. With a lab-grown diamond, the same budget buys you more carats or higher grades.
From 0.5 carats per stone, every diamond comes with a report: IGI for lab-grown diamonds, GIA for natural diamonds. A pair of 1 carat total therefore comes with two reports. Read more about origin in our article on lab-grown diamonds.
Care
Skin, lotion and hairspray slowly leave a fine film on the stone, and it looks duller. A bath in lukewarm water with a little mild soap and a soft brush bring the light back. We explain how to care for your diamond jewelry in detail in a separate article.
Diamond studs for children
Some styles come in smaller versions for children, gathered in MINI ME, among them the Coeur Heart Stud Earrings and the Fleur Bloom Stud Earrings. What we pay attention to with jewelry for children is on our Safety & Responsibility page.
Finding your pair
Once you know how many carats, which setting and which cut, the rest is anticipation. Every style, from a delicate pair at 0.5 carats to a carat on each ear, is in our diamond earrings collection.
Pour toujours.
