About $600, but this depends on the size, gold content, and where you’re shopping. 18k gold hoop earrings will always cost more than 14k gold. You can get a decent pair of small 14k gold hoops for under $200 on sale at a department store. A brand like Cartier or Tiffany might charge close to $2,000 or more; ditto the types of designers carried by luxury jewelers and boutiques. Jewelry designer Nina Wynn best-selling textured gold hoop earrings start at $330 but get into five-figure territory once you go larger and start adding diamonds.  

The size of hoop earring you wear is a matter of personal preference. According to Nina Wynn, the hoop should be in proportion to the length of your ear lobes, the size of your head, and length of your hair. Small works best with small. Delicate features and a cute pixie cut? Keep the hoops small. Someone with a larger head and larger facial features can pull off an oversize, hoop à la Jennifer Lopez. Big hoops tend to look better with longer hair, even if it’s piled up high in a bun. It’s all about balance.

Yes. The “14k” refers to the amount of gold used in making the jewelry. Pure gold is too soft and malleable to be made into jewelry so it has to mixed with alloy metals to make it stronger. 14k means that the metal used to create the jewelry is 58.3 percent pure gold.

A huggie hoop earring is small hoop earring that “hugs” your earlobe. Sometimes huggies have a hinged closure, snapping in place with a little click to form a complete circle. Other times the huggie has a post back that allows its circle shape to be left slightly open in the back, while still sitting very close on the ear.

Most genuine gold jewelry should be stamped with its gold content (10k,14k or 18k usually) to let you know it’s the real deal. Use a magnifying glass or a jeweler’s loupe when you inspect it to see the marking clearly. If you’re not sure it’s real gold, your jeweler can conduct a quick test using a small amount of nitric acid.

They’re more of a fashion statement than anything else, but according Nina Wynn, they can be a symbol of strength and resistance. You can also inject some symbolism into your hoop earrings when you wear a pair set with gemstones, perhaps your birthstone, as all gemstones, minerals, and crystals are imbued with symbolic meanings and spiritual energies. Since hoops are circular in shape, they can be considered a symbol of wholeness, the life cycle, symmetry, and eternity.

Trying on hoop earrings in a variety of sizes is the best way to tell what looks best on you—the size of hoop earring you wear is a matter of personal preference. According to Nina Wynn, the hoop should be in proportion to the length of your ear lobes, the size of your head, and length of your hair. Small works best with small. Delicate features and a cute pixie cut? Keep the hoops small to medium. Someone with a larger head and striking facial features (cheek bones!) can pull off an oversize, hoop à la Jennifer Lopez. Big hoops tend to look better with longer hair, even if it’s piled up high in a bun. It’s all about balance.

Clean and polish them every few months. Don’t store silver hoop earrings with your other jewelry to keep them from tarnishing prematurely. For a quick update, thread one or several earring charms onto each hoop for a completely different dangle earring look. Big hoops look great with your hair left long and flowing down your shoulders or half-up. Some people can pull them off with their piled up in a high bun. Small hoops look great with short hair, or with longer worn in a high or low ponytail style.