You should always wear jewelry that makes you feel good. But learning how to choose the right jewelry for your skin tone can set you apart and accentuate your style.
Since jewelry typically rests against your skin, the contrast between the jewelry you’re wearing and your skin tone is immediately noticeable. It makes your skin tone an important factor of how good the jewelry looks on you.
Skin Tone vs. Skin Color
Skin tone is not the same as skin color.
Skin color – The surface layer of the skin. It’s typically affected by the environment. For example, if you get sunburn, your skin color may change to a deeper shade.
Skin tone – Skin tone (undertone) remains the same regardless of the environment. It’s derived to your genes, ethnicity, and biological makeup that determines the amount of melanin (skin pigment) present in your skin.
Determine Your Skin Tone
There are three main skin tones – warm, cool, and neutral.
You typically have a warm skin tone if:
- You have greenish veins on your wrist.
- Your skin tans easily and you seldom get sunburn (or your skin is black or brown).
- You have brown, hazel, or green eyes.
- You have brown or black hair.
You typically have a cool skin tone if:
- You have blue (or sometimes purple) veins on your wrist.
- You don’t tan easily and are susceptible to sunburn.
- Your skin is pale or shows signs of redness.
- You likely have blue, brown, or green eyes.
- Your hair is probably blond, brown or black.
If your skin tone is neither a match for a warm skin tone nor a cool skin tone, you likely fall somewhere in between and have a neutral skin tone.
Note: Always look at the veins on your wrist under natural light.
Choose the Right Jewelry for Your Skin Tone
Now that you know your skin tone, it’s time to match your skin tone with the right jewelry.
Choose the Right Precious Metal
Warm skin tone – Your perfect match is gold, including rose gold. Copper and brass can also work if you’re looking for less conventional jewelry.
Cool skin tone – Precious metals such as silver, platinum, or white gold are the best match for a cool skin tone.
Neutral skin tone – You have the best of both worlds. You can choose any precious metal to wear.
Choose the Color of Your Gemstones
Warm skin tone – Stones that are a good fit for a warm skin tone include alexandrite, garnet, opal, citrine, turquoise, sunstone, orange or yellow sapphire, zircon, morganite, yellow or imperial topaz, jade, and peridot. Most yellow, orange, or green stones could be a good match.
Cool skin tone – Stones that are a good match for a cool skin tone include amethyst, tanzanite, tourmaline, ruby, emerald, fluorite, sapphire, turquoise, garnet, peridot, topaz, and aquamarine. In principle, any red, purple, or blue stone can look good on you.
Neutral skin tone – Neutral stones include opal, ruby, sapphire, and pearl although most warm skin tone and cool skin tone stones can be a great match as well.
What about diamonds? Diamonds, especially white diamonds go well with every skin tone.
That’s a Wrap
We trust that after reading this article you will have a better understanding of how to choose the right jewelry for your skin tone.
There are many other factors you might want to consider besides your skin tone. They include the shape of your face, your eye color, lifestyle, and personality. For example, some people prefer wearing big rings, thick or multiple bracelets, whereas others prefer more discreet items.
Matching jewelry based on your skin tone is a good starting point. However, our advice is to always wear jewelry that you love. It’s a lot more important to wear jewelry that you love than to wear jewelry you don’t care for but that’s a good fit for your skin tone.
As explained in our article 5 reasons why you should buy jewelry at a pawn shop, pawn shops are a great place to shop for jewelry and get expert advice on what items are a good fit for you.
And if you have any jewelry that you would like to sell, pawn, or have evaluated, Maxferd has in-house experts who are ready to assist you.
Call us at (800) 888-7296 or visit one of our five locations in San Francisco and Los Angeles to find out how we can help you.