I bought these as a gift for my mother. She always, ALWAYS wears hoops because anything else hurts her ears. She still talks about wanting something different so I went on a search and found these (with her birthstone). The price was right for a trial item and they are from Amazon so I knew if she was unsatisfied, we wouldn't have a big hassle sending them back.

She loves them! She said they are so comfortable that she doesn't even know they're there when she has them in.

The stones we received are a very rich and true garnet color. I was pleasantly surprised at them when I first took them out (again, price had me skeptical). After reading other reviews, I also checked the "levers" to make sure they opened and closed efficiently. Ours were fine and my mother has not had an issue with them so far either.

I would not say these look like $100 earrings, don't buy them expecting that... but I also certainly don't think they look like the $20 they are.
I will update after a few months but so far these have been well worth the money and I see myself buying her another pair with a different stone in the future (or a silver pair for myself)!