A Plain English Guide to Gauge Sizes for Body Jewellery

If you're new to body jewellery, gauge sizing can feel deliberately confusing. It goes backwards, the numbers don't mean anything obvious, and suddenly you need to know what 1.2mm is in fractions of an inch too. Whether you're shopping for the first time or replacing a piece you got done at a New Zealand piercing studio, here's a straightforward breakdown.

What is gauge?

Gauge refers to the thickness of the jewellery post or ring, not the size of your piercing hole. The confusing part is that the higher the gauge number, the thinner the jewellery. So 20g is finer than 14g, and 00g is much thicker than both.

Standard gauge conversions

What gauge is my piercing?

Most New Zealand piercers work to these standard gauges, the larger typically being preferable:

• Lobe: 18g or 16g
• Nostril: 20g or 18g
• Helix and cartilage: 16g
• Tragus, daith, conch: 16g or 14g
• Septum: 16g or 14g
• Eyebrow: 16g
• Navel: 14g
• Nipple: 14g
• Tongue: 14g
• Lip and labret: 16g or 14g
• Genital piercings: varies, commonly 14g or 12g

These are general guidelines. Your piercer may have used a different gauge based on your anatomy, so if you're unsure check with them before ordering replacement jewellery.

What about diameter and length?

Gauge tells you the thickness of the post. You also need to know the diameter (for rings and hoops) or the length (for barbells and labrets) to get the right fit. Getting the length wrong on a healing piercing is one of the most common causes of irritation, and it's one of the questions we get asked most often here at Staple. Too long and it catches on everything, too short and it puts pressure on the tissue.

A note on sizing up

If you're stretching a piercing, go up one gauge at a time and only when the piercing is fully healed. Skipping sizes or rushing the process causes tearing and can lead to permanent damage. Take your time.

Shopping for jewellery in New Zealand

One thing worth knowing if you're buying body jewellery online in NZ is that a lot of what's available, including on large international marketplaces, is not implant grade. It may be listed as surgical steel or titanium without specifying the grade, and that matters, especially for healing piercings. Look for ASTM F136 titanium specifically. That's the standard used by professional piercers across New Zealand and internationally, and it's the only material we stock at Staple.

When in doubt

If you're not sure what gauge your piercing is and you no longer have the original jewellery, any reputable New Zealand piercing studio can measure it for you in seconds. It's worth a quick visit rather than guessing and ordering the wrong size.