Real. Every earring on this page is solid 14k gold, yellow or white, and the title says so. Nothing here is plated, gold-tone or gold-filled; those are honest products with their own pages. One thing to read for: many of the tragus and cartilage studs are a solid 14k gold top on a flexible Bioplast post, and the title says Bioplast whenever that is the case. The hinged hoops, seamless rings and captives are gold all the way through.

Bioplast is a flexible, inert medical-grade plastic. On these studs the post that passes through your piercing is Bioplast and the part you see is solid 14k gold with a real gemstone or CZ, so there is no metal in the piercing at all. The gold top pushes or screws onto the post. Piercers like it for cartilage that is still settling, for sleeping, and for anyone who reacts to metal; the trade-off is that you replace the post, not the gold, if it ever wears.

Most of this page is 16G, the cartilage standard, with 18G for finer piercings. Studs come on 1/4 inch (6mm) posts for a snug tragus or helix and 5/16 inch (8mm) for a little more room or a piercing that is still settling. Hinged hoops, seamless rings and captives run 3/8 to 1/2 inch inside diameter. Match the gauge and length you wear now; both are on every product page.

Itchy, weepy cartilage is usually a nickel reaction. Solid yellow 14k gold has no nickel; white-gold alloys vary by piece, so if you know you react, choose yellow or ask about the specific piece. The Bioplast-post studs sidestep the question entirely, because nothing metal touches the inside of the piercing. Implant-grade titanium is the other nickel-free lane if you want the look without the gold price.

Studs for the tragus, helix, conch and forward helix, where a flat or low-profile top sits clean against the ear and is easy to sleep on. Hinged segment rings and seamless rings for a healed helix, daith or rook, where a hoop reads best; the hinge clicks shut so there is no bead to chase. Tension captives for conch and lobe when you want a classic ring with a single stone. Hoops are for healed piercings; heal on a stud.

You are paying for gold by weight, for stones set by hand rather than glued, and for pieces that are mostly made to order in our own gold department in Buffalo, New York, which is why some ship a little slower than steel. Gold is priced as gold: buy-one-get-two promotions do not apply to 14k, and the price you see is the price. Care is simple: thread tops on by hand, open a seamless ring with a gentle sideways twist, never pulled apart, and a soft cloth brings the shine back.