Notes on personal style, considered choices and the pieces that become part of a life.
Styling Notes: practical guides for your own jewelry →
Hoops are measured across the diameter. Small is roughly 12 to 20mm and sits under the lobe, medium 20 to 35mm, large 40mm and up. For every day, 20 to 30mm is the size most people reach for without thinking about it.
ReadWrap a strip of paper or string around the base of the finger, mark where it meets, measure the length in millimetres, then divide by 3.14 for the diameter. Measure at the end of the day, on the exact finger, and check the knuckle as well as the base.
ReadNo, not the way silver and copper do. Stainless steel carries at least 10.5% chromium, which forms a thin chromium oxide film that reforms itself when scratched. It contains no copper, so it does not leave a green mark either.
ReadBecause there are three different ways to make a gold-colored piece and each has its own floor. Plated base metal bought as finished stock lands under about $60. Vermeil has a sterling silver body, so its cost scales with a commodity. Solid gold is priced off the metal. The prices jump rather than slide because the constructions do.
ReadA magnet separates solid gold and silver from pieces with an iron or steel base, because neither precious metal is magnetic. It cannot tell you whether a piece is well made, and it cannot catch the most common problem base metal of all: brass is not magnetic either, so brass-based plated jewelry passes the test.
ReadCopper. Green marks are copper salts, formed when copper in the alloy meets sweat and skin acids, and brass is around two thirds copper. It is a deposit on the skin rather than a reaction in it, it washes off, and it is a fact about the metal rather than a sign of an allergy.
ReadYes, at this price it is often the sensible choice, as long as you check three things before you buy: what the base metal underneath is, whether the piece needs a size you would have to guess, and how long the return window runs into January. Earrings and cuffs are the lowest-risk gifts. Rings are the highest.
ReadWestern astrology sorts the twelve signs into four elements, and the element is the part that is useful when you are choosing jewelry: fire signs suit bold sculptural shapes, earth signs polished classics, air signs geometry and two tones, water signs fluid organic forms. The associations are symbolic and stylistic, not predictive.
ReadFine jewelry uses precious metals. Demi-fine often describes gold-plated sterling silver. Fashion jewelry spans base metals and other decorative materials. The labels overlap, so compare the actual metal, finish and care instructions.
Read
Yes, you can wear the same gold through the gym, the office and dinner. This is how I stopped changing mine, and the three things I check before a piece earns that.
Read
One pair of gold hoops covers most of my week. What changes is my hair and what I put on my hands, never the earrings.
Read
Warm undertones usually suit yellow gold, cool undertones tend to work well with silver and white metals, and neutral undertones can comfortably wear either.
Read