The Story

A huggie is the hardest thing in jewellery to get right. Too thin and it disappears. Too thick and it stops being a huggie and becomes a hoop that fights your jawline every time you turn your head. Lumen sits exactly on the line between the two.

We drew the profile at 12 mm across and 5 mm deep — a chunky, rounded tube that reads as silver rather than as wire, but still closes tight enough to sit flush against the lobe with no gap underneath. That depth is the whole point. It gives the metal enough body to be polished to a true mirror, and a mirror is what makes sterling silver look expensive: it is the only finish that throws the light back at you instead of absorbing it.

The name comes from the Lumen chain, our flat paperclip-link collection. The two share the same idea — a softened elongated oval, flattened just enough to catch light along a broad edge rather than a narrow one. Worn together, the bracelet and the hoops speak the same language without being a matched set.

Design & Craftsmanship

Each hoop is formed from a single length of solid sterling silver tube, not plated over a base metal, so the piece can be polished again and again over decades without ever exposing a different colour underneath. The tube is drawn, curved and hand-trued so the two hoops in a pair are identical to within a fraction of a millimetre — a detail that sounds pedantic until you wear earrings that are not.

The closure is a hinged clicker: the hoop swings open on a tiny, deliberately over-engineered hinge, threads through the piercing, and snaps shut with an audible click. There are no removable backs to lose in a hotel sink, and no posts to bend. Once it is closed, the seam disappears into the curve of the hoop and the earring reads as a continuous circle.

Every pair is tumble-polished for fourteen hours — the same process we use on the Lumen bracelet — which is what produces the deep, liquid shine on the surface. They are then inspected by hand under magnification, because a huggie that closes even slightly off-true will pinch, and a huggie that pinches never gets worn again.

How to Wear It

Lumen is designed to be the anchor of an ear stack. Start with these in the lobe, add a small flat-back stud in the upper cartilage, and leave the middle empty — the gap is what makes a stack look considered rather than crowded. Because the hoops are thick and bright, they hold their own against a plain stud without competing, and the flat profile means they sit neatly under a helmet, a headset or a winter hat.

They are equally good as the only thing you are wearing. With hair tucked behind the ear, a cream knit and no other jewellery, a pair of polished silver huggies is one of the few pieces that reads as finished without reading as dressed up. If you wear gold elsewhere, do not worry about mixing: the cool tone of this silver is deliberately kept slightly grey rather than blue, which is what lets it sit comfortably beside yellow and rose gold.

Why You'll Love It

• Solid 925 sterling silver tube — never plated, so it can be re-polished for a lifetime.
• Chunky 12 mm × 5 mm profile: substantial enough to read as jewellery, slim enough to hug the lobe.
• Hinged clicker closure with a satisfying snap — no lost backs, no bent posts.
• Tumble-polished for fourteen hours to a true mirror finish.
• Sold as a matched pair, hand-checked for symmetry under magnification.
• Nickel-free, lead-free and hypoallergenic — safe for fresh and sensitive piercings.
• Balanced and lightweight, comfortable enough to wear from morning to night.

Care

Silver darkens when it meets air, humidity and sulphur — this is normal, not a fault, and it happens faster on pieces you wear often. A quick pass with the supplied polishing cloth restores the mirror in seconds. Store the pair closed, in the pouch, away from rubber, wool and hot springs, all of which accelerate tarnishing.

Open and close the clicker gently and only when you need to; the hinge is built to outlast the earring, but every mechanism benefits from being treated kindly. Remove before swimming in chlorinated or salt water, and put your hoops in after hairspray and perfume rather than before.

Shipping & Returns

Dispatched within 48 hours, with free insured worldwide shipping. Every order travels in protective, plastic-free packaging and arrives in a VERQALOT box with a soft pouch and a polishing cloth. Returns and exchanges are accepted within 30 days on unworn pieces, and earrings are covered by our two-year craftsmanship warranty.