The main types of hoop earrings are classic polished hoops, huggies, endless hoops, puffy and wide hoops, C hoops, textured hoops, shaped hoops, hoops with pearls or charms, and diamond hoops. A type is named by the hoop's outline, its surface and the way it closes. We counted all sixty-three pairs in our hoop earrings collection by type, with the size and closure each listing gives, so you can see how many of each exist and how large they run.
Types of Hoop Earrings, Counted in Our Range
The table sorts every active pair in the collection into one type. Counts are pairs, not designs, so a polished hoop sold in several sizes counts once per size. Sizes and closures are copied from each listing's title or spec sheet; where a listing does not state one, the cell says so.
| Type of hoop, our listings | What sets it apart | Pairs in our range | Size as listed | Closure as listed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic polished hoop | A smooth round tube of polished gold, sized by diameter and wire width | 12 | 11.5 to 60 mm long, 2 to 5 mm wide | Not stated |
| Huggie | A small hoop that closes close around the lobe | 13 | 10 to 19 mm long | Snap lock or push back |
| Endless hoop | A continuous fine wire with no visible catch | 4 | 21 to 44 mm long, 2.00 mm wire on the round and oval | Endless |
| Puffy and wide hoop | A full, rounded or broad band that reads as a bold shape | 7 | 10 to 27 mm long | Snap lock, hinged snap-back or omega back |
| C hoop and post hoop | An open curve that goes through the ear on a straight post | 2 | 16.20 to 40 mm long | Snap lock on the post hoop |
| Textured hoop | Bamboo, bead, twist, rice, diamond-cut, spring, tapered or band surfaces | 11 | 11 to 35.6 mm long | Snap lock on the two that list one |
| Shaped hoop | A heart, rectangle, double oval, trinity or crossover outline | 5 | 13 to 25.6 mm long | Snap lock or push back on the two that list one |
| Hoop with pearls or a charm | A gold hoop carrying pearls or a hanging charm | 3 | Not stated in the titles | Not stated |
| Diamond hoop | Diamonds set along the front, and on several the inside too | 6 | 2.0 to 7.0 cttw on the five titles that give it | Hinged snap-back on five |
Two types make up four in ten of the range: the classic polished hoop at twelve pairs and the huggie at thirteen. Textured hoops are the next largest family at eleven. Endless hoops are only four pairs, but they run the longest of the plain gold hoops, up to 44.00 mm.
What are the different types of hoop earrings?
Hoop earrings are grouped by outline, surface and closure. By outline they are round, oval, pear, heart, square, rectangle, paperclip or the open C. By surface they are polished, puffy, twisted, beaded, bamboo or diamond-cut. By closure they are endless, snap lock, hinged snap-back, push back or omega back. Most hoops belong to one group of each, so a puffy oval hoop with a hinged snap-back is a normal combination.
Mentioned in this piece
Oval Endless Hoop Earrings in 14K Yellow Gold
$559.00
View the piece
Classic Polished Hoops
The classic hoop is a round tube of polished gold, and it is the type most people picture first. Most of ours are sized in two numbers in the title: the diameter and the width of the gold. The range runs from the petite polished hoop in 14K rose gold at 11.5 mm to a 60 mm by 2 mm pair in white or yellow gold.
The width matters as much as the diameter. A 25 mm by 2 mm polished hoop reads as a fine line, while a 40 mm by 5 mm pair reads as a strong band of gold. Seven of the twelve are offered in more than one gold color, so the same shape can be matched to the rest of what you wear.
Huggies
A huggie is a hoop made small enough to close close around the lobe, with almost no gap below it. Our thirteen run from the textured huggie at 10 mm to the paperclip huggie at 19 mm long. Within that size there is real variety: square, curb chain, heart, wide, snuggable and two-tone sparkle huggies, and a paperclip huggie with a link drop.
Huggies that list a closure use a snap lock built into the hoop or a push back on a post, the same back a stud wears. The square huggies close with a snap lock at 12.00 mm and 1.5 g. How a huggie compares with a larger hoop on the ear is a question of scale, which our hoop sizes guide sets out pair by pair.
Endless Hoops
An endless hoop is drawn from fine wire, and the wire's tip slides into the hollow end of the hoop, so there is no catch to see. That makes it the lightest closure and the cleanest line. Ours come in four outlines: round at 21.00 mm, oval at 25.00 mm, pear at 32.00 mm and paperclip at 44.00 mm.
The endless pear hoop weighs 1.9 g at 32.00 mm long, and the endless paperclip hoop weighs 2.6 g at 44.00 mm. For their length, they carry the least gold of any hoop in our range that lists a weight.
What are endless hoop earrings?
Endless hoop earrings are hoops made from one continuous fine wire with no visible clasp. One end is thin enough to pass through the piercing and slides into the hollow opposite end, which holds it by friction. The look is an unbroken circle or shape. In our range the four endless hoops are 21.00 to 44.00 mm long, and the round and oval are drawn from 2.00 mm wire.
Puffy, Wide and C Hoops
Puffy hoops are rounded out so they look full, and wide hoops show a broad band of gold to the front. Our seven run from the wide small hoop at 10.00 mm to the puffy hoop at 27.00 mm. Because there is more metal facing the eye, they read as a bold shape even at a small size. The puffy post hoop is listed as electroform and weighs 6.2 g, the heaviest plain gold hoop with a weight on its spec sheet.
The C hoop is an open curve that stops short of a full circle and goes through the ear on a straight post. Our large puffy omega C hoops measure 24.20 mm and weigh 5.1 g, and they close with an omega back, a hinged clip that folds up over the post. The thin C hoop runs to 40 mm, and the post hoop measures 16.20 mm with a snap lock.
What are hinged hoop earrings?
Hinged hoop earrings have a short section of the hoop that swings open on a small hinge and snaps shut into the other side. The closure is part of the hoop, so there is no separate back to drop. It suits fuller hoops, because a puffy or diamond-set hoop is too thick for an endless wire. In our range, the hinged snap-back appears on puffy hoops and on five of the six diamond hoops.
Textured and Shaped Hoops
Texture changes how a hoop catches light more than its outline does. Our eleven textured pairs include bamboo hoops at 25 mm, bead hoops at 25 and 35.6 mm, twist hoops, a sparkle spring hoop, small rice hoops, tapered hoops at 18 mm, diamond-cut hoops faceted to throw light, and a wedding band hoop 6 mm wide. A diamond-cut surface sparkles with no stones at all.
Shaped hoops change the outline itself. The five in our range are a heart hoop at 22 mm, a rectangle hoop at 13.00 mm, a double oval tube hoop, an interlocking trinity hoop at 25.6 mm and a crossover hoop that loops one band over another. Shapes like these work as a single statement pair or beside a plain huggie in a second piercing.
Diamond Hoops and Hoops with Pearls
Diamond hoops set stones along the front of the hoop, and on several along the inside as well, so the diamonds show from either side of the ear. Our six are in 14K white gold, in shared prong, two-row pavé, three-row, two-sided and slim two-sided settings, and the titles that give a total weight run from 2.0 to 7.0 cttw. The diamond hoop earrings collection lists each one with its setting.
Three pairs pair gold with something hanging or set from the hoop: a small hoop with pearls, a half hoop with pearls and a hoop with a diamond heart charm. They are the most decorative type in the range and the least common.
How Each Type Closes
Every type above uses one of five closures. Snap locks and hinged snap-backs are the most common because the catch is built into the hoop. Endless closures belong to fine wire. Push backs appear on post-style huggies, and the omega back on the large C hoop. Our guide to the backings and how they close counts them across every spec sheet.
What are the types of hoop earring closures?
The five common hoop earring closures are the snap lock, where a post clicks into a catch; the hinged snap-back, where a section of the hoop swings shut; the endless closure, where a fine wire slides into the hollow end; the push back, a post held by a sliding back; and the omega back, a hinged clip that folds over a post. Each of the five appears on hoops in our range.
Which type of hoop earring is the lightest?
Endless hoops and small huggies are the lightest types. In our range the puffy C huggies weigh 1.2 g, and the endless oval hoop weighs 1.5 g at 25.00 mm long. The heaviest plain gold hoops are puffy and post styles, with the puffy post hoop at 6.2 g. If a hoop will be worn all day, weight is the figure to compare, because grams are what the lobe feels.
Choosing a Type
Choose by how you want the hoop to look first, then by size. For a fine line, take a polished or endless hoop. For a bold shape, take a puffy or wide hoop. For something close and constant, take a huggie. For light and sparkle, take a diamond-cut or diamond hoop.
What size are small, medium and large gold hoops?
Small hoops run up to about 15 mm and sit close to the lobe, which is huggie size. Medium hoops are roughly 20 to 30 mm and hang just below the lobe for everyday wear. Large hoops start around 40 mm and swing as you move. Our 14K gold hoops cover all three, from 10 mm huggies to 40 mm polished hoops and a 60 mm pair, and every listing gives its length.
Each type in this guide is a section of our full hoop earring sizes guide, which measures twenty plain gold hoops side by side, and our types of earring backs guide covers studs as well.
Compare every type in our hoop earrings and huggie earrings collections, or start with the endless oval hoop in 14K yellow gold, 25.00 mm long on 2.00 mm wire.
Warranty. Every DEEVE piece carries a lifetime manufacturer's warranty for the original purchaser, serviced in-house, with complimentary cleaning, inspection and prong tightening for the life of the piece and rhodium re-plating on white gold at no charge. Read the warranty.
0 comments