This Week's Obsession: Mixing Metals
Just as women once paired their bags with their shoes and toenail colour matched what was on the fingertips, jewellery-wearing required choosing either all yellow gold or all white gold/platinum. No more. The hottest trend in summer jewellery is metal-mixing — pairing burnished gunmetal with bright yellow gold, pale rose gold with oxidised silver, rhodium with copper. The look can be seen stacked as bangles, layered as neck chains, dangling from ears — often with multiple metals appearing on the same piece. Our savvy readers agree, unanimously all those who replied to our survey are mixing metals.
Cocktail parties aside, the look speaks of summer, with variations of mixed metal jewellery looking fetching at the beach, under the stars at the Hollywood Bowl or at any number of music festivals.
Designers say costs have a lot to do with the trend. The price of gold, while fluctuating, remains high, spurring designers to dabble in other metals.
Mixing jewellery opens the door to pair your favourite pieces, but it’s key to pay attention to the ratios you use. You don’t always have to create a 50/50 blend of your metals; simply sprinkling in a piece or two of an extra colour can add interest and style to your look. Additionally, pay attention to the widths of your chains and jewellery textures to create an incredible layered look.
A bridge piece is a perfect way to mix metals while retaining an intentional, put-together look. A bridge piece ‘bridges’ the divide between white and yellow metals by including two (or sometimes more) metal shade in its design. This is common in watches and thicker chains and is the perfect way to introduce the layering of mixed metals into your look.
As a rule of thumb, it’s a good idea to invest in a mixed-metal piece for each major jewellery region: fingers, wrist, neck, and ears. This gives you the freedom to wear your favourite pieces all at once. For example a trinity Cartier bangle or ring or necklace, classic.
We don’t have to pick a favourite among yellow gold, rose gold, copper, silver, black, green, blue or pewter! We can have it all. We at Covett love this line of thinking as it marries perfectly with our philosophy as well: you no longer have to pick a favourite piece of jewellery, but you can have as many as you want with our Covett vault.
10 Amazing Facts About Metals Used in Jewellery – Gold
- Gold is edible
- The Earths core contains enough gold to coat its surface 1.5 feet deep
- Our blood contains gold
- Earthquakes turn water into gold
- More gold is retrieved form a ton of PCs than 17 tons of gold ore
- Olympic swimming pools could hold all of the gold ever mined
- The worlds oceans contain around 20 million tons of gold
- Almost half of the gold ever mined came from Witwatersrand, South Africa
- Aurophobia is the fear of gold
- Indian housewives hold 11% of the world’s gold
Six Tips for Mixing Metals
Wearing a gold bangle with a silver ring might have once been considered a fashion faux pas, but sartorial opinions on mixing metal jewellery evolved, and mixing metals is now commonplace. Here are some tips to help you create a seamless look while donning different metalsConsider the four central jewellery regions.
- Consider the central jewellery regions of the body
There are four regions on a person’s body where jewellery is typically worn and most visible: your neck, ears, wrists, and fingers. You don’t need to wear jewellery in each of these spots. However, when you want to mix colour palettes in jewellery, consider the placement. Mixing precious metals with similar themes, sizes, and textures throughout these regions can create a chic look.
2. Layer to create visual interest.
When mixing metals, you should layer different jewellery pieces on top of each other or very close by—for instance, multiple necklaces around your neck or a few rings on your fingers. Try different combinations to determine the most stylish look. Opt for necklaces of different lengths to avoid tangling, and pair rings of varying thicknesses to create visual interest.
3. Opt for balance.
When mixing different styles of metals, a good rule of thumb is to aim for balance in the number of metal pieces you wear. Wearing a gold necklace with predominantly silver pieces can be jarring. If you like bracelets, wear one or two bracelets of each metal you prefer, rather than four gold bracelets with a silver ring. Try to mix metals evenly throughout the look, like a mix of rose gold and silver necklaces with gold and silver bracelets, for a cohesive look.
4. Think about the tone of each piece.
A great entry point into mixed metals is to mix pieces that complement your skin tone. Yellow gold and rose gold complement warmer skin undertones, while silver and white gold pair well with cooler undertones. Learn how to identify your skin’s undertone here.
6. Find a mixed metal piece.
Consider buying a single piece that naturally incorporates two (or more) metals, such as a copper-and-silver watch or a yellow gold necklace with white gold accent colours. A mixed metal ring can naturally serve as a “bridging piece” between the two metals, allowing you to wear both metals in other necklaces, bracelets, rings, or earrings.
Mixed metals and metals to mix & stack from the Covett Vault
Cartier Trinity Diamond Earrings
in Rose, White & Yellow Gold
Backes & Strauss
Miss Victoria Watch in Rose Gold
Covett
Diamond stretch tennis bracelet in white gold
Covett
Baguette diamonds and rose gold bangle
