American body jewelry aficionados prefer the terms plugs or gauges and for tunnels eartunnels, flesh tunnels or tunnel gauges. And for the UK stretchers, body jewellery, gauging, plug earrings and gauge earrings.3 May 2019
Where did gauges come from?
Gauges are old measures of thickness. They originated in the British iron wire industry at a time when there was no universal unit of thickness. The sizes of the gauge numbers were the result of the process of wire-drawing and the nature of iron as a substance.
Are gauges African?
The first recorded use of ear-stretching comes from Ancient Egypt, and can be seen in the sarcophagus of the Pharaoh Tutankhamun. In addition, anthropologists believe that the use of ear gauges originated in sub-Saharan Africa.
What culture gauges ears?
Ancient Egyptians, Mayans, and Aztecs used the practice, as well as many Asian and African tribes. If you know of the famous heads on the Easter Islands, all of them have stretched ears. They were known as “long ears” and were warring with neighbouring tribes without stretched ears known as “short ears.”
How do I know my ear gauge size?
Try sliding your jewelry into the opening to see if it fits. If it fits perfectly and snuggly in the opening, you found the size! The gauge measurement is the number printed next to the cutout circle. Gauge wheels usually provide the measurement in the gauge size along with the millimeters or inches.
What gauge size is a normal earring?
Gauge Size: Insert a standard earring post through your piercing - this is going to be a 20G size post. If it fits snugly, then your gauge size will be 20G. If you can move it around a little bit, try an 18G size. If you can move it around quite a bit, then you probably want a 16G size.