Choose the metal you will reach for every day. If your skin has warm, golden or olive undertones, gold tones often look most natural; if it has cool, pink or blue undertones, silver often does; if you sit in between, both will suit you. Treat that as a starting point, not a rule. What you already wear, the colours in your wardrobe and the watch on your wrist matter just as much, and gold and silver can be worn together when it is done with intent.
Gold or Silver: Start With Your Skin
A simple test is the inside of your wrist in daylight. If the veins look green, your undertone is probably warm; if they look blue or purple, it is probably cool; if you cannot decide, it is likely neutral. Another way is to hold a gold piece and a silver piece against your skin in turn and notice which one makes your complexion look brighter and more even.
The guide only goes so far. Plenty of people with cool skin love the warmth of gold, and plenty with warm skin prefer the clarity of silver. Hair colour, the season and even your make-up shift the balance. If one metal simply feels more like you, that is the better answer.
Look at What You Already Wear
The most practical guide is the jewellery you never take off. If you wear a wedding band, a family ring or a watch every day, choose new pieces that sit happily beside it. A yellow gold band asks for gold-toned earrings and a necklace to match; a steel watch leans towards silver. Look at your wardrobe too: camel, cream, olive and warm browns tend to flatter gold, while grey, navy, black and cool pastels tend to flatter silver.
What the Words Mean: Solid Gold and Gold-Plated
Solid gold is described by its purity. 18ct gold is 75 per cent pure gold and is often stamped 750. 9ct gold is 37.5 per cent pure gold and is often stamped 375. The rest is other metals, which give the gold strength and shape its colour. Higher carat gold is richer in colour; lower carat gold is a little paler and harder.
Gold-plated jewellery has a thin layer of gold over another metal, which may be brass, stainless steel or silver. It gives the colour of gold in a lighter piece, but the layer can wear with time, especially on rings and bracelets that rub against surfaces. Gold-tone describes colour only: it tells you the piece looks gold, not what it is made of. When you choose, read the material in each product's details rather than the name alone.
The pieces below show the difference. Chantecler's Gold Bead Ring is made with 18ct gold beads, black onyx and pavé diamonds. Stroili's Gold Hoop Earrings are made in 375/1000 yellow gold, in a clean oval with a bayonet clasp. Sense's Gold Pearl Necklace sets three cultured pearls on a gold-plated chain, and 24Kae's Delicate Gold Bracelet pairs pale pink and clear crystals with gold-plated metal.
Sterling Silver 925: Silver Rings, Earrings and Bracelets
Sterling silver is 92.5 per cent pure silver, which is why it is stamped 925. The remaining 7.5 per cent, usually copper, makes it strong enough to wear. Silver has a cooler, whiter shine than gold and suits clean, modern dressing as well as softer pieces with pearls. Silver-tone, like gold-tone, describes colour rather than metal.
Silver also takes texture well. An oxidised finish darkens the recesses of a design so that the raised parts stand out, as in Giovanni Raspini's Oxidized Silver Ring, where the floral detail is darkened to show its relief; the house is rooted in handmade silver. Pandora's 925 Sterling Silver Heart Ring pairs a slim beaded band with a heart-shaped stone. Majorica, a house devoted to pearls, suspends a cultured pearl from a fine chain in its Silver Pearl Drop Earrings, and Miluna's Silver Tennis Bracelet sets a line of small round stones in sterling silver.
- 925 Sterling Silver Heart Ring
- Silver Pearl Drop Earrings
- Silver Tennis Bracelet
- Oxidized Silver Ring
Rose Gold and Mixed Metals
Rose gold takes its pink colour from copper in the alloy. It sits between the two camps: warmer than silver, softer than yellow gold, and flattering on most skin tones. It is a good choice if neither gold nor silver feels quite right, or if you want one piece that bridges both.
Dodo's Rose Gold Stacking Ring is crafted in 18ct rose gold, a slim band made for wearing alone or in a stack. Stroili's Rose Gold-Plated Silver Flower Bracelet is made in 925 sterling silver with a rose gold colour, set with small cubic zirconia in a floral motif. Skagen's Rose Gold Pendant Necklace is rose gold-plated metal with two small white beads. Morellato's Two-Tone Rope Ring is silver with rhodium plating and gold-tone accents, which makes it an easy way to begin mixing metals.
- Rose Gold Stacking Ring
- Rose Gold-Plated Silver Flower Bracelet
- Rose Gold Pendant Necklace
- Two-Tone Rope Ring
How to Mix Gold and Silver Well
Mixed metals look considered when there is a reason behind them. The easiest bridge is a piece that already contains both, such as a two-tone ring, which links everything else you wear. Repeat each metal at least twice, so that a gold necklace is echoed by gold earrings and a silver ring by a silver bracelet. Keep the styles related: fine chains with fine chains, bold links with bold links. And if you wear a watch, let its metal lead the wrist.
Caring for Gold, Silver and Plated Jewellery
Silver darkens naturally over time as it reacts with the air. Wearing it often helps, and a soft silver cloth brings back the shine. Store silver in a closed pouch or box when you are not wearing it. Do not polish oxidised silver hard, or you may lift the dark finish that gives the design its depth.
Solid gold is the simplest metal to look after. Wash it occasionally in warm water with a little mild soap, rinse, and dry it with a soft cloth. Plated pieces need the gentlest care: put them on after perfume, lotion and hairspray, take them off before swimming, bathing or exercise, and wipe them with a soft, dry cloth rather than a polish, which can wear the surface away.
Whatever the metal, store pieces separately so they do not scratch one another, and fasten chains before you put them away so they do not tangle.
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