Huggie Earrings: What They Are, How They Differ from Hoops and How to Choose

Huggies are the earrings you put in and forget about. Here's what they are, how they differ from hoops, and how to choose a pair that lasts. Straight from 26 years of designing and making jewellery in our Durban studio.

What are huggie earrings?

Huggie earrings are small hoops that sit snug against your earlobe, so they look like they're hugging your ear. Huggies can be fiddly. After 26 years of making jewellery, I’ve made sure ours aren’t. A section of the hoop hinges open, you slip the post through your ear and click it shut. No backs to lose.

My first huggie that I made was the Tapered huggie: smooth, classic, no fuss. The Organic huggie grew out of my Organic hoop, I had made a hoop style earring with my signature organic texture.  I wanted that organic texture but in an earring with less fuss. Easy to put in, easy to wear and with more interest than a plain huggie.

Huggies vs regular hoops: what's the difference?

A huggie is a hoop, just closer and smaller. The difference is in the fit and the fastening.

	Huggie earrings	Regular hoops
Fit	Sits tight against the lobe	Often a bigger diameter so not so snug on the lobe
Size	Small and compact (ours are 14 x 15mm)	From small to statement, slim to chunky
Closure	Hinged, clicks shut	Often a wire or latch through the ear or post and butterfly
Wear	All day, every day	Depends on size and weight
Look	Neat, low-key, stackable	Ranges from subtle to bold

 

If you want an earring you don't have to think about, choose a huggie. If you want movement and drama, go for a hoop.

How to put in huggie earrings

They are super easy to put in your ears.

1.      Swing the hinge open.

2.      Slide the post through your piercing.

3.      Close it until it clicks into place.

That click is what keeps it secure. There's no butterfly back to fiddle with, and none to lose down the basin. It's an all-in-one earring.

Can you wear huggies every day?

Yes. That's what they're made for. But every day doesn't mean every hour.

•       Sleeping: take them off. Anything you want to last needs looking after, and jewellery is no different.

•       Swimming: take them off. Chlorine damages the metal. And the sea loves to swallow jewellery.

•       When they're off: put them back in their box.

Some brands will tell you to sleep, shower and swim in your huggies. We'd rather you still had them in ten years.

Solid sterling silver, vermeil or plated: which lasts?

Choose solid metal. Plating is a surface finish, and surfaces wear off.

I work in solid sterling silver. It's the material that resonates with me. Sterling silver is 92.5% pure silver, and 95% of the silver I use comes from recycled sources.

We also make a plated (vermeil) version of the Organic huggie. Plating needs more care: no sleeping, swimming or showering in it. When it wears, there's solid sterling silver underneath, so it can be re-plated rather than thrown away.

Are huggies good for sensitive ears?

All our sterling silver is nickel-free. If your ears are happy with sterling silver, these huggies are a good fit.

How to care for your huggies

Silver reacts with air and can tarnish, this is perfectly normal. The tarnishing is just on the surface and can be brought back to its original finish with a polish.

•       Keep your huggies in a jewellery box when you're not wearing them. This goes for all your jewellery.

•       Live near the sea? Be strict about it. Sea air makes silver tarnish faster.

How to wear huggies: there are no rules

The Organic huggie is for someone who wants no-fuss jewellery with a bit of edge.

How you wear it is your call.

•       Wear it alone in your first hole.

•       Stack it with small hoops or studs.

•       Put a stud in your first hole and the huggie in your second.

•       Add attachments and let small charms dangle from it.

You decide.

Shop the Organic huggies

Chunky, textured solid sterling silver. Hinged, so they click shut. Made to be worn, not kept for best. Oh and I loved them so much I made a square version as well. 

•       Solid sterling silver, nickel-free

•       4mm thick, 14 x 15mm

•       Also available plated (vermeil)

•       Made to order in our Durban studio: allow 10–15 working days

•       Free shipping in South Africa on orders over R1,700