Diamond stud earrings are timeless, elegant earrings that are both glamorous and understated at the same time. One simple stone provides an immense amount of glitter and glitz, and the larger the stud, the bigger the sparkle. Large diamond stud earrings do have a drawback in that the setting becomes more and more important. Not only will the setting be more noticeable on a bigger earring, but the setting can also have an effect on how the stone sits in your earlobe — and if it stays in your earlobe.

Stone Weight and Drooping

Larger diamonds are heavier diamonds, and the setting you put it in can affect how much the earring sags forward, which is an unfortunate but common side effect of wearing heavy stud earrings (of all types, not just diamonds). One setting, called a crown, features an elongated cuplike setting with the stone placed at the very end. Because the stone is so far forward, the weight of the stone has an outsized effect on potential sagging. Crown settings are better for smaller stones, though if you find a large stone in a crown setting that you just love, you can try using support backings, which are basic stud backings with a plastic disc attached to the part that sits up against your earlobe. The wider disc helps steady the earring by not letting the post sag forward.

Affecting the Piercing Size

Something that people try when they want to prevent an earring from sagging is to make it really tight (placing the backing so close to the lobe that the lobe is squeezed between the front portion of the earring and the backing). Not only does this not really work (you really do need a support backing if sagging is an issue), but if you have an earring that uses a martini setting, you could actually stretch the front of the pierced hole a bit. A martini setting looks like a martini glass from the side; the setting holding the stone tapers down to the post like a martini glass cup down to the stem. That pointed end looks nice but does require that you not push that backing on too tightly. Martini settings show off single stones very nicely, so get a support backing. An alternative is to look for a slightly rounded martini setting, so the "cup" isn't as pointed as it joins the post, but the prongs and setting hug the stone well.

Secure Stones

No one ever wants to lose a stone from an earring, so security is important. Large stones do very well in basket settings, which are round settings with relatively flat backs that sit comfortably against the earlobe. If you look at the setting from the side, you see almost all of the stone and a lot of space; that means the prongs are really the only parts holding the stone in the earring. Basket settings are best for large, heavy stones, but do inspect the prongs and stone often. If you see any signs of damage or a prong becoming loose, take the earrings to a jeweler to have them fixed.

You have a few more subtypes of settings, but these are the big three in terms of how the earring sits in your earlobe. If you're looking for diamond earrings for sale, consider the weight of the stone as you look at its setting.