0.20 ctw Diamond Mini Stud Earrings – 18k White Gold, Screw Backs

18k white gold. 2 round diamonds, 0.20 ctw. Screw backs.

The screw backs are the reason to buy these.

A friction back — the small pinch-on butterfly that comes on almost every stud sold — holds by tension alone, and tension loosens. It loosens against pillows, against sweaters pulled over the head, against a phone held to the ear. Most people who have lost a diamond earring lost it to a friction back, and they usually did not notice until hours later.

A screw back threads onto the post and locks. It takes an extra few seconds to put on and it does not come off on its own. For a child, for someone who sleeps in their earrings, or for any stone you would be genuinely upset to lose, it is the only closure I recommend.

On the metal: 18k is 75 percent pure gold against 14k’s 58 percent. It is marginally softer, which matters for a ring you knock against desks all day but matters very little for an earring that sits still in a lobe. What you gain is a denser, warmer feel and less alloy overall — which is worth knowing if you or your daughter have ever reacted to costume jewelry, since nickel in the alloy is usually the culprit.

At 0.20 carats total, roughly 3.1 millimeters each. Small, but past the point where a diamond reads as a diamond rather than a sparkle.