Cool, Warm, Neutral: Complementing Your Skin Tone with Jewelry

Ladies, this is for you. Or men, this is for you if you want help selecting jewelry that enhances your woman’s natural beauty and need a place to start.

As an accessory, jewelry enhances an outfit, and if you like everything to match, read on to learn how to select the most appropriate metal and gemstones.

Why Does the Identical Piece of Jewelry Look Better on Her?

You saw a commercial or an advertisement for particular ring, bracelet, or necklace, and fell in love. You now have that exact piece of jewelry and, somehow, it doesn’t look ‘as good’ on your hand as it did on the model. Why?

It could be that the metal/gemstone combination complements the model’s skin tone and not yours.

Knowing your skin tone can help guide you to selecting jewelry that naturally looks great on you; it is not a rule to follow in selecting jewelry, as what you wear is always a personal choice, it is only a guide.

How Do I Determine My Skin Tone?

A simple way to figure out your skin tone is to look at the veins nearest to your wrist.

Go ahead, look now. What color immediately comes to mind: blue, green, or no real distinction between blue and green?

• If you immediately thought blue, you most likely have a cool skin tone. Your hair is probably dark brown, black, or blonde. You most likely have brown, gray, or light blue eyes. When out in the sun, your skin turns pink quickly and you can sunburn easily. You may consider your skin pale, pink, or a soft beige.
• If you immediately said green when looking at your veins, you most likely fall into the warm skin tone category. Your hair is probably light to strawberry blonde or red. You most likely have hazel, green, or blue eyes. When out in the sun, your skin tans easily. You may describe your skin color as yellow, dark brown, or ebony.
• If you feel your vein color could be either blue or green, you most likely fall into the neutral category – anything will look good with your skin tone!

Complementary Gemstones and Metals by Skin Tone

If You’re a Warm Skin Tone

Warm skin tones look great with green, yellow/gold, and orange gemstones. So consider jade, emerald, and peridot; yellow sapphire, zircon, and citrines; and sunstone, orange sapphire, and fire opals.

Yellow metals – gold and copper – complement warm skin the best.

If You’re a Cool Skin Tone

The gemstones that blend best for cool types are those that are blue (such as a blue topaz, blue sapphire, or aquamarine stone), purple (such as a purple sapphire, fluorite, or amethyst), or red (such as the garnet, ruby, or red topaz).

The most complementary metals for cool skin are white, such as white gold, sterling silver, or platinum.

If You’re a Neutral Skin Tone

With a neutral skin tone, you can mix and match and look fantastic with any choice of gemstone or metal.

Special Notes about Diamonds and Pearls

Diamonds complement any skin tone and go with any type or color of metal.

When it comes to pearls, it’s easy to think ‘white’ but natural pearls come in three shades: white, silver, and rose-tinted. Cool skin tones pair best with rose-tinted pearls; silver and warm skin tone are natural pairs. White pearls complement any skin tone. We have your guide to pearl jewelry to help you get started in selecting pearls.

Please Know There Is No “Wrong” Piece of Jewelry!

Everyone should wear what they like and what gives them the most joy. This article simply highlights ways to complement jewelry and skin tone when you’d like accessories to best match an outfit or an overall look.

Our expert staff can help you choose complementary jewelry so you'll look great with whatever you want to wear! We're open 10AM - 6 PM, Monday - Saturday and look forward to helping you select the best pieces for your skin tone.