My first pair of earrings were simple studs, the generic pair I picked out when I got my ears pierced as a little girl, but as the years have gone on, my collection of unique, intricate earrings has grown and my everyday studs are a thing of the past. While there's no shortage of pom-pom earrings [1] or single silver drop earrings [2] in the fashion world, I assumed that all cartilage earrings were created equally. I thought that the round silver cartilage earring I rebelliously got pierced with in college (sorry again, Mom) would just be it, no tassels or fringes [3] — and sadly, no diamonds.
There's no denying that it's difficult to design a unique yet chic cartilage earring simply because of the sensitivity and location on the ear, but a piercing legend in New York City has found the solution. Robbie Milian [4], the one with the piercing gun at celebrity favorite West 4 Tattoo [5], simply removed the bead from his client's cartilage ring, turned in the metal ends, and shaped the piercing into a heart. We've officially named this heart cartilage trend "heartilage," and we cannot get enough of it! It's the adorable way to spice up your piercing in a way we didn't think could be done.
Robbie's creativity with the heartilage piercing might have been inspired by his frequent heart daith piercings [6], the innermost area of cartilage, which he often pierces with a beaded heart ring, seen on his Instagram. Keep reading to see more photos of the heartilage trend.
