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Tuesday, August 2, 2016

The Weight. . .

of the world earrings on your shoulders ears ;)

A while back Kim of Numinosity and Numinosity Beads, mentioned some of her more senior customers have difficulty with heavier earrings. Me too. But I wasn't able to wear heavier earrings when I was younger. They're just not comfortable for me. 

I noticed my friend, Chris Kaitlyn of ChrisKaitlynJewelry, was showing the weight of earrings in listings. I talked to her about it, she shared info, and I decided it was a good idea. At some point I realized that, okay, the weights are there but they're in a vacuum. What do they mean? I know what they mean to me but there isn't a "chart" to help customers decipher what they mean. Honestly, it's not possible. Weight is relative, and involves too many factors. I do, however, have customers ask me from time to time, "are these heavy?" There will never be a hard and fast rule, but I'm going to share with you the guidelines I use for myself.


 My earrings today are designed with beautiful, slim and lightweight ceramic leaves by Petra Carpreau of ScorchedEarthOnEtsy. These pieces are fired with leaves embedded, given this gorgeous glazing and fired again. I paired each with three 6mm, Natural Apatite stones. Apatite has become my favorite stone. The color is a rich, muted teal. Purchased from TheFickleBead. There are copper and copper-plated beads up top, along with handcrafted ceramic beads by Barbara Hanselman of BHClaysmith, another unique and talented ceramic artist. I used 22 gauge wire, not my first choice, but I knew it would help to keep them lighter and I'd be able to wrap it the way I wanted to. 

Very few components are "too heavy" to use. It depends what you do with them. It's wonderful to create without thought! It's art! It's what I love to do! But then I often end up with a wall hanging, not an earring. (I think I heard that saying here before) I'll keep going and going and going until they weigh an ounce! Well, what's an ounce you say? Here we get to what the weights mean. One of today's earrings weighs 0.23 oz, 6.68 grams. Less than a quarter of an ounce. A good weight for most women, I think, but it is not featherweight. Lightweight for most, in my opinion, but it won't be long until it creeps up into an area that will be too heavy for me. If I want to wear something all day and not think about it, I won't go much higher than this, around a quarter of an ounce. When I let something get to 0.30 oz. . . . that is getting out of the comfortable range for me, certainly not all-day wearable, and maybe not wearable at all. For Me!

My MIL split her lobe all the way down in her 60s with a gold hoop, so it does happen, even though she'd worn those for decades. 

You are not going to find weights in most shops and websites; It's not a necessary thing for a large part of the population. My customers run the gamut from very young adults to women in their 60s and beyond. It was the questions about the weight that encouraged me to try to find a way to give them a meaningful answer. For designers, if women in the AARP age group (that's 55 and up ;) are in your target market, you might want to think about weight with them in mind.

I see many listings that give the earrings a featherweight, lightweight, or medium weight. If you aren't offered a weight, and IF this is an issue for you, ask the seller for their opinion. On a weight scale of one to ten, where would they put the earrings. Remember, though, that it's an opinion, likely based on what is light, medium or heavy to them. 

If you would like to have a little more detail regarding weights and what they mean to me, please just let me know. I will always address a comment/question left here, and you can always message me through She Flies Again, my Etsy shop, or Facebook.

Thank you for stopping in today! We appreciate it!
Norbel



15 comments:

  1. Thank you so much Norbel for this very informative post. To be honest, I have never given the weight of earrings much thought. I realize I should. We are all different and not everybody feels comfortable with heavy earrings.
    You're earrings are once again lovely. The apatite beads go perfect with the ceramic. I love the work of Petra Carpreau. Thanks for introducing Barbara Hanselman. I will certainly check out her work.

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    1. Janine, I will tell you sincerely. . . . never once have I wondered about the weight of your earrings. They always look perfectly wearable, which is likely why you have never given it much thought. :) Barbara Hanselman's work is unique; you will enjoy it for the art of it all. Thank you, Janine!

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  2. Gorgeous, gorgeous earrings. What an important contribution you have made here, Norbel, writing about weight. Our ear lobes DO get "softer and stretchier" as we age. At 68 I have earrings that I have worn for decades, beloved earrings, that I can no longer wear as they stretch my earlobes unattractively. AND, as you mention with your MIL, they COULD rip right through my earlobes. I am so glad that you and Chris Kaitlyn are TAKING LEADERSHIP in paying attention to earring weight and publishing the weight of your earrings in your listings. Brava x 2!

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  3. I get that question too and I've contemplated including the weight in listing but as you say...what does it really mean? I wouldn't have a clue if I didn't make jewelry what heavy actually means. Maybe I should do it anyway!! I love the earrings for sure, those little apatite dangles are wonderful!

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    1. Thanks, Kristi. I'm still thinking about how to translate the weight into something meaningful. In my mind I have a breakdown of sorts of what the weights mean to me, but have been hesitant to include it with the listings because, first of all, I've found most people don't read all that stuff. lol And second, it would still be just my opinion. Thanks again! :)

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  4. Great info! Great advice! Something to think about for sure. I too prefer lighter earrings, so I generally make mine on the lighter side too. Thank you for sharing!

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    1. It always bothers me when I neglect to respond in the reply area, and reply in the comment area. :) details details.

      Thanks, Cindy! I hope this finds you well! Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day, and for your positive feedback. I always appreciate it!!

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    2. It always bothers me when I neglect to respond in the reply area, and reply in the comment area. :) details details.

      Thanks, Cindy! I hope this finds you well! Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day, and for your positive feedback. I always appreciate it!!

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  5. Thanks, Cindy! I hope this finds you well! Thank you for taking the time out of your busy day, and for your positive feedback. I always appreciate it!!

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  6. Beautiful earrings and great advice. I also find weight of earrings 'relative', some of my earrings weigh 7/8g each (or more) yet they feel lighter than some that weigh 6g. I think how light or heavy earrings feel also depends on how much area (the focal) the weight is distributed on. Hope I made sense, it made sense in my head 😁

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    1. Absolutely it made sense. I discussed that in my first draft but had to cut things out; it was just way too long. I think it depends on the person's ear, how dense it is, how long the lobe, etc. As well as, yes, the distribution of the weight. I haven't yet figured out the perfect distribution! lol Too technical for a designer, right? :) Thank you, Suhana, for taking the time to respond and for your input. I appreciate it!

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  7. An interesting post, this, Norbel. I saw these earrings on Pinterest the other day and thought how clever the beaded cord tassels were!

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    1. Thank you, Claire. As always, I appreciate your feedback! I'm glad you found it interesting. I have used it before. It tends to look different, though, depending, of course, on the component. It's just a bit of a different way to add some interest below. :) I do hope all is well with you, Claire! I miss you here.

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  8. I have learned that weight is a huge factor with a lot of my customers, so I always mention, "light as a feather" or comfortable weight in my listings. I try to go as light as I can, heavy turns off quite a few. Great earrings Norbel!!

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  9. Thanks for this post. Kristi and I were just talking about earring weight last weekend. I admit that I have sometimes decided that a pair of earrings I've made is too heavy to wear comfortably. I use it as a pendant then!

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