The process of ear stretching, often called gauging, involves gradually increasing the size of a piercing to accommodate larger jewelry. Many people encounter confusion when trying to understand the sizing system, particularly when moving from numbered gauges to sizes designated with a zero. This confusion arises because the sizing convention used for body jewelry does not follow a standard linear progression. The transition from a single-digit gauge to a zero-gauge size, and then to a double-zero gauge, is often counterintuitive for newcomers.
The Gauge System Explained
The sizing system for body jewelry is adapted from the American Wire Gauge (AWG) standard, which dictates an inverse relationship between the number and the physical diameter. This means that as the gauge number decreases, the actual size of the jewelry increases. For example, a 14-gauge (14g) piece of jewelry is smaller in diameter than a 6-gauge (6g) piece.
Following this inverse logic, the size 00g is larger than the size 0g. The gauge system begins using zeros to denote larger sizes once it runs out of single-digit numbers to represent the increasing diameter. The addition of the second zero simply indicates the next step up in size after the single-zero gauge. Therefore, 00g represents a greater diameter than 0g.
0g and 00g in Millimeters
While the gauge system is used to label the sizes, the most accurate and universal way to measure body jewelry is by using millimeters (mm). Millimeter measurements eliminate the ambiguity of the gauge system and are the standard used by professional piercers and jewelry manufacturers worldwide. This is important for safe stretching, as even a small difference in diameter can cause tissue damage.
The standard conversion for 0g is 8 millimeters (mm) in diameter. The next size up, 00g, is 10 millimeters (mm) in diameter. This 2-millimeter jump between the two sizes is one of the largest single-step increases in the entire stretching process, often requiring extra care and time. Relying on the millimeter measurement ensures the correct diameter is used, regardless of manufacturing variations in gauge-labeled jewelry.
Sizing Beyond 00g
Once a person has reached the 00g size, the traditional gauge system is generally exhausted and no longer used for subsequent, larger sizes. The largest size commonly referred to by a gauge number is 00g, or sometimes 000g, though the latter is less common. At this point, the sizing convention transitions entirely to pure millimeter measurements.
Jewelry is then labeled and sold in 1-millimeter or 2-millimeter increments, such as 11mm, 12mm, or 14mm. This shift to a linear, metric measurement system provides clarity and precision for those who continue stretching past the 10mm mark. Occasionally, larger sizes may also be labeled using imperial measurements, such as 1/2 inch or 5/8 inch, which are also based on a direct measurement of the diameter.