The Art of the Earring Stack

I’m ready for my fourth piercing and I have a vision. It can’t be another simple stud that I add now then scramble to style with a new piece later. So, I’m designing my dream ear. Everywhere in New York, there are stacks of diamonds and dangles of gold drop earrings that look effortlessly but expertly placed. I’m ready to be part of the earring elite. To aid my planning process, we tapped the earring expert, Maria Tash, on mixing metals, style combinations, and the must-follow rules for the perfect ear stack.

On Pairing Studs, Threaders, and Huggies

AS Tash is the queen of versatility, we asked her where to start when deciding between minimalist pave huggies, diamond studs, or simple solid gold hoops to pair with the pieces we already have. She shares, “I recently introduced threaded piercing charms in pear and marquise white diamonds. This design is a hybrid because it is a stud that can move like a charm. This design in various sizes and colors of gold can be worn in almost all areas of the ear and pairs really well with my popular invisible set diamond hoop earrings. It's a very modern way to set the diamonds because it has hidden mechanisms to hold the stones with movement, and emphasizes the pure beauty and cut of those popular diamond shapes.

On Layering Earrings in Different Ear Locations

Then, there’s always the question of how to marry a cartilage hoop with a daith piercing or pear shaped diamond drop. It can be overwhelming when adding another piercing into the mix, but, Tash notes, “If the intent is to stick with the Lobe as opposed to cartilage, there are many new types and effects. The old rules of even spacing between Lobe one, two and three no longer exist. One can place a stack on top of a first, second, or third Lobe piercing for a novel effect or place a second or third ear piercing quite far away from a first Lobe to create large spacing. A good curation involves deliberate choices in ring diameters and how studs and rings play off each other. Everything should relate to each other, be readable, and not too busy.

On Mixing Metals (Yellow Gold, Rose Gold, White Gold, & Sterling Silver)

“I'm not against mixing metals, but it needs to be done carefully and deliberately. It is much easier to mix compatible stone colors than metal colors. That's because there are only a few choices in gold metal colors and they tend to be very particular as to which ones best flatters the wearer. My jewelry designs, I’ve already paired the correct stone and metal colors.To determine the most flattering metal color for a client, I start by thinking about which shades of gold compliment a person’s skin tone and which metals they already wear and favor,” Tash shares. “Most people can effectively wear more than one metal color. Some clients buy duplicate designs in both white and yellow gold to match their apparel changes. One can also mix black gold and white gold. Yellow and rose can be mixed carefully. A general guiding principle is that if you have repeating designs, for example several plain rings going up the ear in similar diameters, then it is easier to mix metals because the eye can differentiate the colors since the design is consistent. If one has different designs next to each other ideally there should be a continuity of metal color so the eye concentrates on the design differences.”