Yes, wooden earrings can crack. No, the coating does not make them indestructible. And the thing most likely to ruin a pair is not rain or knocks, it is perfume.
None of that is a reason not to buy them. It is a reason to know what you are getting. Wood behaves like wood, and a maker who tells you otherwise is selling you something that does not exist. Here is the honest version, along with the part that makes the material worth the trouble.
In this article
- Which wood is best for earrings?
- Are wooden earrings lighter than they look?
- Can wooden earrings crack?
- What actually damages them?
- Why designs are not repeated
- Why are these designed as earrings?
- On wearing odd earrings
- Frequently asked questions
Which wood is best for earrings?
There is no single answer, but there are properties worth wanting: dense enough to hold a fine edge, hard enough not to dent in a pocket, and stable enough not to warp.
Baltic Dew earrings are cut from hard rock maple, because that is what skateboard decks are made from. A deck is around seven thin sheets of it, pressed together with the grain of each sheet running in a different direction. That construction exists so a board survives being landed on, and it happens to be excellent for small jewellery: the crossed grain means there is no single line running through a piece for a split to follow, and maple takes a fine finish without the surface tearing.
Softer woods dent. Very oily woods can fight the finish. Maple does neither, which is why it turns up in so much small woodwork that has nothing to do with skateboarding.
Are wooden earrings lighter than they look?
Considerably, and this is the part people get wrong in the other direction.
Maple has a density of roughly 0.62 to 0.75 g/cm³. Stainless steel is about 8.0. So a wooden drop weighs a small fraction of the metal equivalent at the same size, and size stops being the thing that decides whether you can wear a pair all day.
That is why the large designs exist at all. A pair of drops at 55 to 60 mm in metal would be a commitment. In maple they are unremarkable to wear, which means you can have something bold on your ears without your ears knowing about it by 3pm.
Narrow striped bars on sterling silver leverbacks. Long, and light enough to forget you have them on.
Can wooden earrings crack?
Yes. Any maker who tells you their coating prevents it is overselling.
Wood is porous. It takes moisture up from the air and gives it back again, and it moves very slightly as it does. A hard coating slows that exchange down. It does not stop it, because the coating sits on the outside and the wood carries on behaving like wood underneath.
Skateboards are the proof of it. A deck is the same maple, cross-laminated for impact, sealed and printed, and decks still crack. A pair of earrings is a much smaller piece of the same material, and the physics do not change because the object got prettier.
In practice this is not something most people ever meet. Cracking comes from extremes: a piece left soaking, a piece dried hard next to a radiator, a piece that goes from a cold coat pocket to a hot room over and over. Ordinary wear is not the problem. Neglect and sudden swings are.
What the coating is actually for
It seals the surface, slows the moisture exchange and gives you something that wipes clean. It is a barrier, not armour, and it is the layer that wears rather than the wood underneath.
What actually damages them?
Ask most people and they will say water. Water matters, but it is rarely the culprit. The real one is perfume, and almost nobody thinks about it.
Perfume, hairspray, hand sanitiser and strong cleaning products all carry alcohol and solvents. Those attack a surface coating directly. Spraying scent while wearing earrings puts a fine mist of solvent straight onto the finish, and it happens daily without anyone connecting the two. Over months the surface goes dull and patchy, and the wood underneath loses its protection.
The fix costs nothing: put earrings in after perfume, not before.
| Situation | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Perfume, hairspray, hand sanitiser | The main risk. Earrings on last, always |
| Caught in the rain | Fine. Dry them with a soft cloth when you get in |
| Shower, bath, swimming | Take them out. Prolonged soaking is the problem |
| Dust while stored | Wipe with a dry cloth. Dust plus damp holds moisture against the surface |
| On a sunny windowsill | Avoid. Sunlight fades colour and dries the wood |
| Loose in a bag | Avoid. Keys and coins scratch a coated surface |
The full routine is on the jewellery care page.
Shaped maple drops that move on the hoop. Hoops in silver, gold or black.
Why designs are not repeated
This is a choice, not a shortage, and the honest reason is not a romantic one.
Baltic Dew is one person. An afternoon spent making the tenth identical pair is an afternoon not spent working out a shape nobody has tried yet. Making ten of the same thing is what a factory is for, and it is dull work besides. So most designs get made, listed, and then left alone while the next idea gets attempted.
Colour plays a part too. It comes from whichever deck a piece was cut from, and the coloured layers were pressed into that board long before it became jewellery. When a board is used up, that combination goes with it.
But it is worth being clear about what this does not mean, because the previous two paragraphs make it sound more final than it is.
You can ask. If you have seen a pair and want something like it, say so. Decks get used across rings, pendants and earrings, so a colour that has disappeared from one listing may well still be around. If it is, a similar pair can be made. Two friends wanting a pair each is a perfectly reasonable request.
What comes back will be close rather than identical. Everything is cut and sanded by hand, and the colour depends on the same board still being here. That is the only real limit.
Why are these designed as earrings?
Recycled skateboard wood gets used for plenty of things. Furniture, boxes, turned bowls, all sorts.
These earrings are not made from what was left after something bigger. They are designed as earrings from the start, and a lot of the work is deliberately spent trying shapes that have not been done before: carved waves, spirals that follow a curve, hollows cut into a bar, pieces taken from the printed face of a board. Some of those experiments become listings. Some stay in a drawer.
It is a slower way to work than cutting shapes out of offcuts, and it is the reason the range looks the way it does.
On wearing odd earrings
A confession that belongs in a post about difficult questions: the earrings do not have to match, and quite often mine do not.
It started with odd socks and moved upwards. Now there are odd pairs in the range on purpose, and wearing two different earrings is a normal day here. If the idea makes you uncomfortable, that is the standard talking rather than you.
Wood suits this better than metal does, because two pieces from different boards will not clash the way two mismatched metals can. They already share a material and a finish. They just disagree about colour.
If you have an idea, say so
Custom pieces are welcome, and so are ideas that have not been tried yet. If there is a shape, a size or a colour direction you have in mind, get in touch. Messages are answered within 24 hours.
Frequently asked questions
Can wooden earrings crack?
Yes. Wood is porous, takes moisture from the air and moves slightly as it does, and a surface coating slows that down rather than stopping it. Skateboard decks are made of the same cross-laminated maple and they crack too. In normal wear it is uncommon, and it usually follows extremes: soaking, drying out next to a radiator, or repeated swings between cold and heat.
What is the best wood for earrings?
One that is dense enough to hold a fine edge, hard enough not to dent, and stable enough not to warp. Hard rock maple does all three, which is why skateboard decks are pressed from it, and why it works for small jewellery cut from those decks. Softer woods dent and very oily woods can fight the finish.
Are wooden earrings heavy?
No, and usually much lighter than they look. Maple runs roughly 0.62 to 0.75 g/cm³ against about 8.0 for stainless steel, so a wooden drop weighs a fraction of a metal one the same size. That is what makes 55 to 60 mm designs practical to wear all day.
Can you get wooden earrings wet?
Rain is fine, dry them with a soft cloth afterwards. Showers, baths and swimming are not, because prolonged soaking is what causes trouble. Take them out first.
Does perfume damage wooden earrings?
It is the most common cause of damage and the one people rarely expect. Perfume, hairspray and hand sanitiser contain alcohol and solvents that attack a surface coating. Spraying scent while wearing earrings puts that straight onto the finish. Put earrings in after perfume rather than before.
Can you order the same design or colour again?
Sometimes, and it is worth asking. Designs are usually not repeated by choice rather than necessity, because time spent making ten of the same pair is time not spent trying something new. If the colour is still available, a similar pair can be made. Decks are used across rings, pendants and earrings, so a colour that has gone from one listing may still be around. It will be close rather than identical, because every piece is cut and sanded by hand.
Is it acceptable to wear two different earrings?
There is no rule against it, whatever the styling guides suggest. Odd pairs are easier to carry off in wood than in metal, because two pieces cut from different boards still share a material and a finish, so they read as deliberate rather than as a mistake.
Unusual wooden earrings
Studs, hoops and drops cut from recycled skateboard maple, made in small numbers.
See the collection