Standard ear piercings are usually pierced at 20g or 18g. Gauge sizes go up (or down, depending on how you look at it) in even numbers from there, so the next largest size from an 18g is 16g, then 14g, then 12g, and so on. When you get to 0g, the next size is 00g (pronounced “double zero gauge“).
Also, what do ear gauges symbolize?
Both men and women are pierced at an early age and brass weights are hung to stretch the ears. Those in the tribe with long stretched lobes are well respected. The longer the ears were stretched, the more revered a person would become to the tribe.
An 18 gauge earring measures approximately 1.0 mm and a 16 gauge earring measures approximately 1.2 mm, for a difference of 0.2 mm.