Today: We found the perfect huggies. Plus …
The simple diamond-studded gold huggie hoop is a fast track to a fine jewelry habit. One day, you’re shopping at Claire’s for neon bracelets or wearing silver flea market rings up to your knuckles; then you get your first pair of good-quality, grown-up hoops and — boom — the floodgates open. The allure is threefold: They’re elegant, easy to wear, and relatively affordable. Like a favorite pair of jeans, they are a cornerstone piece — and they make great gifts for even the pickiest recipients. This is why, when testing and ordering baubles for our brand-new guide to online jewelry, it was important to test hoop against hoop in order to find our favorites. After all, a jewelry company is only as good as its huggies. READ THE GUIDE The best jewelry you can buy online→ Diamond-studded gold huggie hoops are not, of course, all created equal, but they are all created in the same image: one that is dainty, refined, and sparkly with differences that are essentially indistinguishable to the naked eye. Hence, the testing. After assembling a lineup of 15 promising pairs of huggies, we let our eagle-eyed, and honestly, kind of hard-to-please testers scrutinize, wear, and nitpick. I observed the testers with all the nonchalance of a new mom leaving her baby with a sitter for the first time. Our winners were chosen based on teeny little differences: diamonds that provided adequate sparkle by continuing around the bottom curve of the hoop, clasps that were strong but not a struggle to unlatch, and a weight that was both undetectable and heavy enough to produce a nice hang. For us, those were the qualities that really separated the meh from the dazzling — not the total carat weight, whether the diamonds were lab-grown or natural, or if they came from a brand with pedigree. We wanted earrings that were unfussy enough that we could wear them constantly, treating them with the same love and care as an old pair of sneakers without worrying about fading or tarnishing. They should look luxe and elegant at a fancy soiree, but be equally comfortable at the gym, office, or grocery store. In other words, they had to be easy and frictionless, as any fast track should be. One of our favorite huggies, a stunning pair with outsize sparkle→ We independently review everything we recommend. When you buy through our links, we may earn a commission. Learn more ›
Whether you’re in the mood to treat yourself or are planning to go all out for a special someone (gentle reminder: Mother’s Day is three weeks away), our experts have compiled some of their favorite splurge-worthy gifts — including whimsical champagne flutes, stunning handmade stoneware dishes, and an endlessly versatile watch. Plus, “the George Clooney of suitcases”→
This shiny, swingy, sterling silver chain is both understated enough for daily wear and dressy enough to add a pop of elegance to any outfit. Projects editor Phillip Zminda, who has been wearing the necklace for three years, says he doesn’t feel “properly dressed for the coffee shop, the office, or a night out without it.”
If your jewelry’s looking dull or tarnished, here’s how to safely clean your pieces and restore their shine. You can reach the Wirecutter Newsletters team at newsletters@wirecutter.com. We can’t always respond, but we do love to hear from you. Want to see more of The New York Times in your Google search results?
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