I recently met a jeweler here in SoCal, Single Stone on Mission Street, which has come at the perfect time. Now that I’m well into my thirties, I’m less interested in experimenting with the latest trends. Instead, I’m investing in classic clothing items and expressing my fashion sense through my accessories. These days, whenever I have a little cash to spend, I find myself fantasizing about great handbags, shoes, and jewelry.
My current jewelry wardrobe mostly consists of white metal- silver, white gold, and platinum- with just a few pieces in yellow gold. Single Stone, though, is seeing an emerging movement towards yellow gold, and apparently I am not immune to its seductive power. Right now, I’d love to add a gold ring for my right hand and some kind of statement-making necklace to the mix. Something like these:
L to R: Single Stone handcrafted three-stone ring in 18 karat gold, Temple St. Clair Tree of Life Pendant in 18 karat gold
I’m even getting into the look of higher karat gold– 22 karat and 24 karat. While the higher karat is softer (and not the best choice for those who are hard on their jewelry), its rich, vivid color is as luscious and flattering as a ray of afternoon sunshine. I can totally see myself wearing the bangles below… and wearing and wearing and wearing them until people start to think they’re just a permanent part of my arm.
L to R: Single Stone earrings in 22 karat gold, Single Stone hammered bangles in 22 karat gold
But then again, white metal is lovely, too. It’s crisp, timeless, and easy to wear. Plus, since white metal options include silver, white gold, and platinum, there are beautiful pieces available for every budget, taste, and need. Traditionally, jewelers tend to pair diamonds with white metal, and while I love the contrast of diamonds and yellow gold, there’s no denying that diamonds in platinum are luminous!
L to R: Slane & Slane diamond earrings in sterling silver, Single Stone handcrafted eternity bands in diamond, sapphire, and platinum
L to R: Single Stone clover cross with rose-cut diamonds in platinum, Stephanie Albertson bangles with multi-colored sapphires in fine silver
So what are you wearing these days? Do you find that women in your area are primarily wearing yellow gold or white metal? And how are you mixing the two?
Lucie Amberg is also a contributor to Powder Room Graffiti.
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I’ve always mixed the two! And occasionally I’ll mix the three, white, yellow and rose gold. I am so digging the Temple St. Clair Tree of Life Pendant in 18 karat gold that you show above, that’s definitely so ME!
All of that jewelry is SO pretty!!!
I mix and match gold and silver all the time. I can’t stick to just one color.
I like Argento Vivo because they have some fab earrings that mix gold and silver together and it looks really classy.
And I’m with Tracy.. That Tree of Life necklace is awesome!!!!
Yay! I love that yall are down with mixing gold and silver. It is just too hard to pick, I think! And seriously, I would wear that Tree of Life all the time!!
I wear 6 gold bangles each about 3/8ths of an inch wide on my left arm. Half are 14 and half are 10 karat gold. I used to wear 18 karat bangles but they banged up and dented so quickly that I had to give them up. If you are going to wear bangles as I do as an almost daily fashion statement and you lead a busy working existence; do not get plain highly polished bangles, they dent much too easily. Do not get wide bangles if they are hollow tubes, they can snag and actually break and they also dent. Get a bangle with an attractive finish of say, bark, snakeskin, hammared even, any sort of rough pattern. They look well together and they last. If you get plain high finish bangles to accent them as I do, buy 10 karat and plate them with 14 or 18 or even 23 karat gold for color if you like. Otherwise, you will be replacing them often, I am afraid (At least once a year each). I’ve worn a series of bangles for the last 40 years at least and what I have written here is borne of my own experience. I hope it is helpful. If you have a limited budget, because gold is so expensive right now, buy silver bangles which are incredibly strong and have them plated. All my daughters wore vermeil bracelets when they were at school and one still wears hers and she is now married with girls of her own. Good luck in your lovely new job.