The Colour You Keep Not Buying

You've picked up the coloured pair before, turned it over twice, and put it back. Gold again, because gold is the thing you already know won't go wrong.

So here's the short answer: coloured enamel is the easiest way to wear colour, because it sits up near your face where it never has to agree with your clothes. Pick one shade you already reach for in something else, keep the shape simple, and wear the same pair often enough that putting it on stops feeling like an occasion.

How do you wear enamel earrings when everything else you own is neutral?

Start at the ear and stop there. One coloured pair against a grey jumper reads as a choice you made on purpose; the same teal turning up again in a bag, a scarf and a pair of shoes starts to look like a theme you have to keep up all day.

And if you want somewhere to begin, begin small. The Azure Bloom Studs sit flat against the lobe, so you'll have forgotten them by eleven and the blue is the only thing doing any work. At £38.90 they're the cheapest way to find out whether you like colour at your own ears or only on other women.

Azure Bloom Studs — £38.90 — Shop →

Which colour should you buy first?

The one you already own. Go and look at what's actually hanging up, and count: if three of your five most-worn things are some version of teal, or rust, or inky blue, then you've been answering this question for years without ever writing it down. What colour do you own more of than you meant to?

Then buy a pair that carries that shade with something else beside it. The Sunset Mirage Hoops run teal and coral brushstrokes across a gold-plated hoop, so they'll sit against either colour you already wear and hand you the second one free. They're £51.15, and being hoops they swing a little when you turn your head, which is worth knowing if you've only ever worn studs.

Sunset Mirage Hoops — £51.15 — Shop →

Will coloured earrings work with the gold you already wear?

Usually, yes, and there's a structural reason for it. Enamel is a coloured surface applied over a metal base, so almost every coloured piece has a visible band or frame of metal holding it, and that frame is what ties the earring to the chain already round your neck. Both pairs above are gold-plated, so if your everyday necklace is gold then you've got your answer.

The Dream Marble Diamond Drops show it plainly: a geometric square marbled in turquoise and lavender, hanging from a gold U-shaped connector, so the gold is what you notice first and the colour arrives half a second later. They're £51.15, and they hang below the jawline, which keeps them clear of your neckline if you've already got two or three chains on.

Dream Marble Diamond Drops — £51.15 — Shop →

What if you don't like wearing coloured jewellery?

Then don't wear it. Some women put on a bright earring and feel like they've borrowed somebody else's personality for the afternoon, and that's a preference in exactly the way disliking a high heel is a preference. Nobody needs talking into it.

If that's where you are, the thing to chase is texture. A ribbed or inlaid gold hoop gives you interest at the same distance from your face, and we've written about the textured ones separately. Colour is one route through Becoming. Texture is another.

Should you buy enamel studs, hoops or drops first?

Buy the stud. It's the one you'll put on for an ordinary Wednesday, and an ordinary Wednesday is where almost all of your actual wearing happens; a stud also survives a coat collar, a phone pressed to your ear and a jumper pulled off over your head. Hoops and drops are lovely and slightly more trouble: they catch on scarves, and they want taking off before bed.

Where this shows up for some women is the worry that one coloured pair will sit unworn next to all the gold. The way round that is to choose the colour you'd reach for on a dull morning, when you aren't dressing up for anything.

How do you look after enamel jewellery?

Three habits, and together they take about ten seconds a day. Put your earrings on last, after hair and perfume, so nothing settles on the coloured surface. Wipe them with a dry soft cloth when you take them off.

And store each pair where it isn't knocking against other metal, because a hard edge against a coloured surface is what causes a chip. The gold-plated settings want the same gentleness: no showers, no swimming, no sleeping in them. There's more in our note on looking after gold-plated jewellery.

Wear it

Three from the Love Your Beauty enamel range, in the order I'd buy them. The whole set sits together in enamel jewellery if you want to see the colours side by side.

Azure Bloom Studs — £38.90 — Shop →

Sunset Mirage Hoops — £51.15 — Shop →

Dream Marble Diamond Drops — £51.15 — Shop →

Common questions

What is enamel jewellery actually made of?

Enamel is a coloured surface applied over a metal base. Traditional vitreous enamel is powdered glass fired on at high heat; a lot of contemporary coloured jewellery uses a resin enamel, which is cured at a much lower temperature. Either way you get a smooth, solid colour sitting in a metal frame, and if the difference matters to you it's worth asking before you buy.

Can you wear enamel earrings every day?

Yes, and daily is the best way to own them, because the colour stops feeling like a statement once it's familiar. Keep them out of water, take them off at night, and the only real risk left is a chip from a knock against something harder.

Do enamel earrings suit every skin tone?

Colour is more forgiving here than metal is. If cool blues and greens already look right on you in a jumper, they'll look right at your ear; the same goes for warm corals and ambers. The metal frame is the part that reads differently against different undertones, so a warm undertone often sits more easily with the gold-plated settings.

Will the colour chip?

It can, if the piece takes a hard knock against metal or stone. Storing each pair on its own and taking them off before the gym or the washing up deals with most of it. Ordinary wearing, coat collars and jumpers included, isn't usually the problem.

How do you wear two colours at once without it looking fussy?

Keep one colour at your ears and let the other be something you already wear constantly, like a coat or a bag. If you want both in the same place, choose a piece that has already paired them for you, such as a hoop with two brushstrokes across it.