Guide · Layered lacquer
Are lacquer earrings heavy? How to choose a pair
Size, weight, hooks and studs, surface and timing: what to look at before you choose lacquer or Song brocade earrings.
· 5 min read
Buying earrings online means judging size, weight and colour from a photograph. This guide sets out what our product pages tell you and how to read it, so you can choose a lacquer or Song brocade pair with a clear idea of how it will look and feel.
Are lacquer earrings heavy?
Usually not. Our lacquer pieces are built on a carved sandalwood core, and wood is light for its size compared with metal or stone. A lacquer sphere that looks substantial in a photograph weighs much less than a metal or stone one of the same size would.
Every lacquer product page gives the listed weight. A few examples, from the lightest to the heaviest:
- The Black Lacquer Gold-Flake Bar Drop Earrings: listed at about 2.8 g.
- The Small Gold Leaf Lacquer Ball Stud Earrings: listed at about 2.9 g.
- The Purple Xipi Lacquer Textured Stud Earrings: listed at about 4.4 g.
- The Blue Xipi Lacquer Gold Nugget Earrings: listed at about 9.4 g, with a solid-looking gold-tone nugget at the ear.
- The Green Eggshell Lacquer Sphere Earrings: listed at about 18.7 g, a long drop with an 18k gold flower bead.
Most of our lacquer earrings are listed at under 10 g. If you usually find earrings tiring by the end of the day, start with the pieces at the lighter end, and look at the metal parts as well as the lacquer, since stud tops, charms and chains add weight.
Reading the size
Sizes on our product pages are given as width × length, in centimetres, and are approximate because each piece is made by hand.
- The Small Gold Leaf Lacquer Ball Stud Earrings is about 1 × 1.5 cm: a small sphere that sits close to the lobe.
- The Black Lacquer Gold-Flake Bar Drop Earrings is about 0.5 × 6 cm: a slim bar that falls well below the lobe.
- The Green Eggshell Lacquer Sphere Earrings is about 2 × 5.5 cm: a round drop that moves as you turn your head.
To picture a length before you order:
- Find the size on the product page and note the second number, the length.
- Stand at a mirror and hold a ruler against your ear, with zero at the piercing.
- Read down to that length. That is roughly where the lowest point of the earring will fall.
- Check the weight on the same page, and compare it with a pair you already wear.
Most of our lacquer earrings are listed at under 10 grams. The core is carved wood.
Hooks, studs and ball posts
How an earring attaches changes how it wears. Every lacquer piece has 14k gold findings; the product page says which kind.
- Ear hooks pass through the lobe and let the drop swing. The Green Eggshell Lacquer Sphere Earrings, Red Xipi Lacquer Coin Charm Hook Earrings and Gold Leaf and Red Lacquer Double Bead Earrings are on 14k gold ear hooks.
- Ball studs sit as a small gold ball on the lobe, with the lacquer hanging below. The Black Gold-Leaf Oval Lacquer Chain Earrings, Red Flecked Lacquer Sphere Teardrop Earrings and Long Gold-Fleck Lacquer Leaf Drop Earrings are on 14k gold ball studs.
- Stud tops put a decorative piece at the lobe. The Turquoise Xipi Lacquer Seashell Earrings, Blue Xipi Lacquer Gold Nugget Earrings and Red Xipi Lacquer Starburst Earrings have gold-tone seashell, nugget and starburst stud tops.
All of these are for pierced ears. None of our pieces is currently made as a clip-on.
Xipi, gold leaf or eggshell
Our lacquer pieces are finished in different ways, and each looks quite different on the ear.
- Xipi is a marbled lacquer, with rings and ripples of colour polished flat. It is the most colourful, in greens, blues, reds and purples. How xipi is made.
- Gold leaf ranges from an even shimmer to scattered flakes on a dark ground. Its warm tone sits alongside the gold findings. Gold leaf in lacquer.
- Eggshell inlay is a pale mosaic of shell fragments with fine lines of colour between them. It has the most texture to the eye, though it is smooth to the touch. Eggshell inlay.
Some xipi and gold-leaf pieces also carry small flecks of mother-of-pearl, which catch soft green, blue and pink light. They are gathered under pieces with mother-of-pearl.
Song brocade
Our Song brocade earrings set small panels of patterned mulberry silk in frames of Miao silver, a traditional white-metal alloy (not sterling silver). They come in two tones: the metal's own pale colour, as on the Ivory Song Brocade Silver Pipa Earrings, or a gold-tone finish, as on the Blue Song Brocade Flamingo Drop Earrings.
The brocade panels are cut from larger lengths of cloth, so each shows part of a pattern and the two earrings of a pair may differ. Our supplier has not listed weights for the Song brocade pieces; if weight matters to you, write to us before you order. How Song brocade is woven.
For a gift
Every piece is handcrafted to order and leaves us in about 10 days, with shipping time on top. Order early for a date that matters.
Mother's Day is a common example. In the UK it is usually in March; in the US and much of Europe it is in May. Allow for making and shipping when you plan.
If you are choosing for someone else, a light, short pair is the easiest to get right without knowing their taste in length: a small gold-leaf ball stud or a short xipi drop. Because each piece is made by hand in China, its colour and pattern will vary a little from the photographs.
The pieces in this guide
The Small Gold Leaf Lacquer Ball Stud Earrings, the Black Lacquer Gold-Flake Bar Drop Earrings, the Green Eggshell Lacquer Sphere Earrings and the Ivory Song Brocade Silver Pipa Earrings cover the range: one of the lightest studs, a long slim drop, the heaviest statement drop and a Song brocade pair. Each product page lists its materials, size and, for the lacquer pieces, its weight.
