Dayak "Gasing" Ear Weights

October 27, 2015 0 Comments

Material: Brass
Culture: Dayak
Location: Borneo, Indonesia
Period: Early 1900's
Size: 70mm x28mm (length x width)
Weight: 132g

A pair of traditional "gasing" or pear weights from the Dayak of Borneo (Kalimantan), Indonesia. This style is also sometimes referred to as "spinning tops." I adore these pieces, and I do wear them periodically. These weights are very heavy, and the Dayak culture is well known for extremely elongated ear lobes (it is not uncommon to see 3" to 6" lobes) in which they regularly wear heavy weight styles and groupings of metal coils. It took me nearly six months to work up to being able to wear them for an entire day without discomfort. This pair is thread wrapped for modern wear to avoid skin irritation, and this also helps with the heavy weight.

The Dayak peoples (Dayak being a term used to describe a large number of smaller ethnic groups) reside on the island of Borneo (Kalimantan), Indonesia. Formerly a fierce headhunter culture, the Dayak are widely known for drastic elongation of the ear lobe, through which weight designs or coils are generally worn. Most items are brass or mixed white metal and quite heavy. These pieces are worn for long periods of time and continue to stretch the earlobe. The Dayak culture also made use of solid plugs, primarily from wood and animal materials.

Also in Content

Body Jewelry Consumer Survey 2019

July 21, 2019 0 Comments

Early this year, I set out to give independent makers and small businesses in the body jewelry industry a way to make smarter business decisions with analytics. We can look at our past sales and infer trends like our most popular sizes and styles, but I wanted to provide a broader look at the current size and buying patterns industry wide. After 16 years of business, I have enough sales records to see a general picture of my customers, but my data set is still limited. The goal of this survey is to create connections between size, style, and cost that allow us to make smart decisions based on what consumers are actively looking to purchase.

Holiday 2018 Shipping and Closure Info

December 11, 2018 0 Comments

I am currently working hard to get all pending orders for standard made-to-order (non-custom) jewelry that have come in through the website finished and shipped in the days leading up to my holiday closure on Friday 12/21.

After 12/17 I can guarantee shipment of orders for in stock and ready to ship jewelry until the afternoon of 12/21 when the last mail shipment goes out.

I strongly suggest Priority or Express mail service to ensure any orders that are gifts or otherwise needed for Christmas to be delivered on time. I guarantee that we'll get it in the mail, but I can't control the shipping time.

My workshop will be closed from 12/22 to Tuesday 1/1 so I can rest my hands and spend time with my family. I may be in the workshop cleaning or prototyping but nothing will ship during this time. Correspondence will happen periodically, just be patient.

I'll be back in the workshop making jewelry and getting on with business as usual the week of 1/1/19. Thanks to you this business is now 16 years old. I appreciate your support. Have a safe and happy holiday!

Jared Karnes, Owner/Jeweler

Submit your wear photos for $$!

December 07, 2018 0 Comments

Over the years I have made some fantastic ear weights, one at a time for one customer at a time, and promptly sent them off to homes without the ability to show them in their natural environment - being worn by truly unique people!

Some of the pieces I make have unusual insertion methods (Ghost in the Shell) or wearing surfaces that can be difficult to describe (iona) but are easy to show in a photo. I want to gather some beautiful photos of my customers showing off how you incorporate my work into your one of a kind style. As thanks, I would like to offer you $30 in credit toward your next order and a chance to win $100 in credit toward your next set of handmade ear weights.

Follow

Sizing Chart

Size chart includes the sizes we make, and default flare size & wearing lengths.
We are happy to make pieces in odd sizes or with custom flares or wearing lengths.

Jewelry Size	Flare Size	Wearing Length
1.0mm (18g)	1-1.5mm	9mm
1.3mm (16g)	1-1.5mm	9mm
1.5mm (14g)	1-1.5mm	9mm
2.0mm (12g)	1-1.5mm	9mm
2.5mm (10g)	1-1.5mm	9mm
3.0mm (8g)	1-1.5mm	9mm
4.0mm (6g)	1-1.5mm	9mm
5.0mm (4g)	1-1.5mm	9mm
6.0mm	1-1.5mm	9mm
6.5mm (2g)	1-1.5mm	9mm
7.0mm (1g)	1-1.5mm	9mm
8.0mm (0g)	1-1.5mm	9mm
9.0mm (00g)	1-1.5mm	9mm
10mm	1-1.5mm	10mm
11mm (7/16")	1-1.5mm	10mm
12mm	1-1.5mm	10mm
13mm (1/2")	1-1.5mm	10mm
14mm (9/16")	1-1.5mm	10mm
15mm	1-1.5mm	10mm
16mm (5/8")	1-1.5mm	10mm
17mm (11/16")	1-1.5mm	10mm
18mm	1-1.5mm	10mm
19mm (3/4")	1-1.5mm	11mm
20mm (13/16")	1-1.5mm	11mm
21mm	1-1.5mm	11mm
22mm (7/8")	1-1.5mm	11mm
23mm	1-1.5mm	11mm
24mm (15/16")	1-1.5mm	11mm
25mm	1-1.5mm	11mm
26mm (1")	1-1.5mm	11mm
27mm (1 1/16")	1-1.5mm	12mm
28mm	1-1.5mm	12mm
29mm (1 1/8")	1-1.5mm	12mm
30mm (1 3/16")	1-1.5mm	12mm
31mm	1-1.5mm	12mm
32mm (1 1/4")	1-1.5mm	12mm
33mm (1 5/16")	1-1.5mm	12mm
34mm	1-1.5mm	12mm
35mm (1 3/8")	1-1.5mm	12mm
36mm	1-1.5mm	12mm
37mm (1 7/16")	1-1.5mm	12mm
38mm (1 1/2")	1.5-2mm	13mm
39mm	1.5-2mm	13mm
40mm (1 9/16")	1.5-2mm	13mm
41mm (1 5/8")	1.5-2mm	13mm
42mm	1.5-2mm	13mm
43mm (1 11/16")	1.5-2mm	13mm
44mm (1 3/4")	1.5-2mm	13mm
45mm	1.5-2mm	13mm
46mm (1 13/16")	1.5-2mm	13mm
47mm	1.5-2mm	13mm
48mm (1 7/8")	1.5-2mm	13mm
49mm (1 15/16")	1.5-2mm	13mm
50mm	1.5-2mm	13mm
51mm (2")	1.5-2mm	13mm

Wearing length is the area of the jewelry that fits inside your piercing.

Overall length (sometimes confused with wearing length) is the total measurement of the jewelry from face to face, including any additional flare or face area.

Diagram of jewelry styles with wearing length marked in green and overall length marked in red.

1. Flat face double flared plug. Wearing length is measured from the inside of the flare edges. Overall length is measured from face to face.

2. Convex face double flared plug. Wearing length is measured from the inside of the flare edges. Overal length is measured from face to face.

3. Flat face double flared plug with flat flares. Wearing length is measured from inside the flare edges (the piercing cannot rest on the flat flare areas). Overall length is measured face to face.

4. Trumpet flare style plug. The dotted line denotes where the wearing surface ends on the front, because the larger portion of the slope cannot fit inside the piercing. Wearing surface is measured from inside the rear flare edge to the area on the front flare with the same diameter measurement. Overall length is measured from face to face.

5. Sloped single flare plug. Wearing length is measured from where the slope of the flare ends to the end of the plug. Overall length is measured from face to face.

6. Top-hat style single flare with convex face. Wearing length is measured from the inside flare corner to the end of the plug. Overall length is measured from face to face.

7. Top-hat style single flare with curved rear. Wearing length is measured from the inside flare corner to the beginning of the curve (the piercing cannot rest on the slope). Overall length is measured from face to face.

8. Top-hat style single flare with groove for an o-ring. Wearing length is measured from the inside flare corner to the groove (the piercing cannot rest on the groove). Overall length is measured from face to face.

9. Labret (round or oval) with a standard concave t-back. Wearing length is measured from where the wearing shaft meets the wing to the end of the flat portion (the piercing cannot rest on the slope).

Overall length is always longer than the wearing surface because it includes other sections of the jewelry that do not rest inside the piercing. If you are ordering a piece of jewerly and you specify an overall length instead of a wearing length, your jewelry will not fit properly. Order using "overall length" at your own risk. Knowing your ideal wearing length, which can change as you stretch your piercings, ensures you're able to order jewelry that will fit well from every vendor, every time.