What does everyone use for backs on expensive post earrings? I
like the threaded gold posts and nuts for gold earrings, but
sometimes with heavier stones in the settings, the small nuts do
not provide good balance for wearing the earring; neither do
omega clips.
On silver earrings under $50, I have no qualms about using the
plastic discs or whatever will do what is best for the particular
design. But anything over that price, I try to make more secure
so customers can’t loose earrings easily (I hate making
replacements). Putting plastic discs on $85 and up earrings
doesn’t seem in keeping with the price of the earrings, although
the discs provide the best balance. The sterling jumbo earnuts
are better, but still oftentimes don’t provide the best balance,
which of course the small nuts could never do. Omegas are
secure, but some customers don’t like them, and I’ve found they
don’t do much for balance either. Wish there were a threaded
post and large screw-on nut available in sterling. What does
everyone else do?
The N. H. Linda, where there’s snow on Mt. Washington
I recently started using sterling bullet clutches and I really
like them, seem move substantial than the regular ear nuts.
There doesn’t seem to be anything comparable in k gold - I just
use a fairly large friction earnut. I haven’t tried the threaded
kind, I thought they might be too hard to take on and off. Jan
there is a dusting of snow on the hill outside my window in
Eastern Oregon.
Frequently I’ve made the equivalent of monster backs for
screw-ons, in silver, gold and Pt. by cutting out a disc and
drilling a (carefully centered) hole of a slightly greater
diameter than the post and soldering it to the screw-on nut. Add
a serrated edge, and if you want to be ultra-detailed and fancy
(customers appreciate it), florentine or otherwise pattern the
facing part of the disc. The worst part of it is to solder the
disc centered over the screw receptacle - not tooo difficult.
The other option is one that while inexpensive, some customers
don’t like either: Level-Ear discs, the clear plastic discs that
slip on over the post before you put on the nut. The only real
way to deal is to have as many options as possible to offer and
stay on the lookout for more, 'cause Heaven knows every customer
is different…Viva la difference!
If you really want threaded earring posts, just use white gold
or yellow gold and sell it as yet another advantage of your
product. Less likely to irritate than silver, higher perceived
value, etc.
Wish there were a threaded post and large screw-on nut
available in sterling. What does everyone else do?
I work mostly in gold, but when I need them, I’ve sometimes
punched out a thin disk with a disc cutter, drilled a center
hole and soldered it to an existing screw back. That’s the
“quick fix” way.
Or, of course, you can always make your own screw back findings
in any size you need. You don’t need to make them look like the
commercial stamped ones. A slightly dapped disk with a bit of
tube soldered to it, drilled through and threaded to fit the
post, and with maybe a wire loop as a "handle, like on the
commercial ones, isn’t all that hard to make, and can look much
more custom than cummercial findings. Another one I’ve done is
to shallowly dap up two disks, so soldered together they end up
like a lentil bead (the flat , flying saucer shaped beads) .
Drill the center through, insert and solder a tube, and thread
it. The result is a very clean looking large threaded nut that
also has some weight to it, which helps balance the earring’s
weight.
Wish there were a threaded post and large screw-on nut
available in sterling.
Take a piece of flat silver stock about 1mm thick or so. Cut
from it two round discs about 8mm or so. Drill a hole about twice
the size of the threaded earring post in the middle of each disc.
Solder the discs to the threaded backs so that they can be
screwed onto the posts being careful not to flow solder into the
threads. Now you have a larger, heavier and easier to handle
screw back. I have done this with 14K. Maybe you can purchase
silver discs the right size and cut out all that labor.