Metals – to mix or not to mix

What are the rules for shaking up your jewellery box?

You cannot shop for jewellery nowadays without stumbling across mixed metal pieces. It is a hot topic in the jewellery world and the trend to follow. I often get asked by my clients whether they should add more white gold pieces to their jewellery box even though it might not be their favourite.

In this article, together, we will decode the art of mixing metals in a way that is tailored to your style and needs.

To start talking about mixing metals, we must start by talking about white gold. We now see it everywhere on celebrities, in magazine and in every Instagram perfect picture. Why is it suddenly trending?

It gives an elevated yet understated luxury look. It is easy to style and adds effortless edginess to your look especially when paired with rhodium plating/blackened gold. It is also the perfect match to diamonds as it amplifies its brilliance. White gold is timeless, yet modern.

This brings me to the next fun part. How to choose the right metal colour for your complexion? To reach your ultimate mixed metal wardrobe, you must understand how the different metal colours reflect on your skin. Like colours, different metals read differently on people. For example, if you have light skin with pink undertone, rose gold might look like yellow gold on you. So, it is important to know your undertone so that you could use the different metal colours as a palette to enhance your natural glow or tone down a look.

There are 3 undertones:
Cool
If you have cool undertones, your skin has a pink, blue, or red undertone. Your glow will be enhanced with silver, platinum, and white gold.

Warm
If you have warm undertones, your skin has a warm undertone. Yellow and Rose gold will give you a sun-kissed look.

Neutral
If you are one of the fortunate ones, then you are going to rock any metal colour! Experiment with different metal colours to express yourself.

The easiest way to find your undertone is by checking your vein colour:
Blue + purple veins = cool undertones
Green = warm undertones
Green+ blue or green + purple = neutral

Even though I have a neutral undertone, my jewellery wardrobe consists of mostly rose gold. It gives my pale skin a warm glow. That is why I add white gold to my wardrobe with the intention to mix it with other metals or through a mixed metal piece.

With this in mind, we can now go back to the main question. Should you hurry and add more white gold pieces to your growing wardrobe? What I advise my clients to do is to never buy something they don’t absolutely love. If like me, white gold is not your thing, but you still want to add some freshness to your look, look for mixed metal pieces. These pieces would blend right in with you other pieces and will add some effortless edginess to your look.

It is important to remember to only buy what serves your bigger goal of building the perfect timeless jewellery box. More on this topic next time.

Happy shopping!