Since the beginning of time, jewellery trends have set a precedent for how women and men wear their pieces. From the Ancient Roman emperor, Julius Caesar, allegedly prohibiting non-royals and dignitaries from sporting pearl jewellery, to old wive’s tales about what allegedly happens to people who aren’t born in the month of the October birthstone but wear opal jewellery regardless. There are so many unwritten rules when it comes to jewellery. None of them is as taboo as the polarising debate on whether you can wear gold and silver jewellery together.
To wear silver with gold jewellery or not is a debate that has been waging among fine jewellery lovers for some time now. While some consider this to be a jewellery faux pas, others are all for this style hack and embrace it with open arms. Will the risk pay off for you or will it prove to be too much on the eyes? Can you wear gold and silver together?
Read on to dissect this polarising jewellery trend.
Overview:
- Can You Wear Gold & Silver Together?
- Is It Safe To Wear Silver & Gold Together?
- Ways To Style Silver & Gold Jewellery Together
Can You Wear Silver & Gold Together?
Although some are more than willing to embrace this common jewellery trend, others think mixing gold and silver jewellery is as sacrilegious as mixing diamond jewellery with zirconia. But times are changing. Gone are the days when it was thought women were the only ones to sport engagement rings. And although fashion icon Coco Chanel famously said that you should take off one accessory before you leave the house, the days of limiting yourself to just a few pieces of jewellery are long gone.
It’s in vogue to embrace your individuality. The unwritten rules of fashion are being thrown out the window. This includes mixing gold and silver jewellery, which is proving to be an incredibly popular trend among jewellery lovers today.
Mixing gold and silver is not only a great way to add some creative flair to your look, but it is also a great way to contrast your jewellery, allowing it to stand out a bit more. While the most common combination is yellow gold and sterling silver jewellery, some will opt for a more romantic look by pairing their silver with rose gold jewellery or by keeping it simple with silver and white gold jewellery.
Pairing silver and gold together is not only an awesome approach for showing off all the staples in your collection but also a great way to try something new. If you suddenly get the feeling that your jewellery is becoming tired and over-worn but you’re not exactly in a rush to buy some new pieces, simply, pair your plain silver jewellery with some gold and you’ve got yourself a fascinating new look. Mixing metals has even become popular among some of Hollywood’s leading ladies, with the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Hailey Bieber and Kim Kardashian all embracing this trend.
Is It Safe To Wear Silver & Gold Together?
So, can you wear silver and gold together? Style-wise, we reckon it’s AOK. But what about in terms of safety and chemical composition?
The bulk of the silver in people's collections today most likely consists of fine silver and sterling silver jewellery. Fine silver is silver in its purest form. Composed of around 99.9% silver, fine silver is incredibly soft and malleable, hence why it is often used for more dainty jewellery. Sterling silver is often more affordable than fine silver as it consists of only 92.5% silver with the remaining 7.5% usually being composed of copper or zinc.
Unfortunately, both fine silver and sterling silver are susceptible to tarnish, a chemical reaction that occurs as a result of exposure to moisture in sulphur in the air. This can cause your silver to discolour and become corroded, losing its shine. Something that many jewellery wearers probably found out the hard way is that mixing silver jewellery with other pieces that are made of completely different metals can also result in tarnishing. This has probably led many people to wonder, is it actually safe to wear silver and gold together?
Jewellery mixing enthusiasts will be very pleased to know that it is completely safe to mix silver and gold. This is because while silver is a reactive metal and therefore caution should be taken when mixing it with certain compounds, gold is a non-reactive metal. Whether the gold jewellery in your collection is solid gold or silver filled-gold, it will be relatively unaffected by air, water, alkalis and most acids and is, therefore, less likely to react and become tarnished, rusted or corroded when placed with silver.
However, there are two potential issues that you should be mindful of when wearing the two metals together and that is the transfer of tarnishing and also scratching. While gold and silver cannot cause tarnishing on one another, they can transfer it. Very much like how a contagious illness jumps from one person to the other, the transferring of tarnish can occur when a tarnished piece of jewellery makes contact with a non-tarnished bit of jewellery. Scratching, on the other hand, occurs when the metals bump and clang together.
Luckily, there are a handful of great solutions out there to prevent these two issues from arising that will help keep your jewellery in top shape. For example, you can prevent scratching by removing any jewellery before undertaking any rigours and physical tasks such as housework, gardening and exercise. To prevent the transfer of tarnish, you will just have to learn how to clean silver jewellery to prevent tarnish.
Ways To Style Silver And Gold Jewellery Together
The most conservative way to mix gold and silver is with chains; you could try wearing a few gold chains with one or two silver chains. However, there are a multitude of other ways you can style these two materials. Here are just a few tips on how to style silver and gold jewellery together.
1. Learn How to Layer
Layering is a pretty standard practice in the jewellery world. It is also a common trend when styling your silver and gold together, as it is one of the more subtle approaches. But jewellery layering doesn’t have to be as simple as layering gold with silver chains. Instead, opt for a few silver bracelets or bangles and add a few gold pieces to that. You also can try adding multi-metal pendants to your look, or you could even layer with rings.
Layering with rings is a great way to spice up your look as there are a handful of ways you can layer your gold and silver rings together. When layering rings, stick to dainty jewellery as thicker pieces not only look cluttered but can also be somewhat restricting for your fingers. You can then either layer your rings in a line across your fingers so that it looks like one large ring that spans across multiple fingers or layer them all on one finger. This last approach is also known as ‘stacking’.
2. Engagement and Wedding Rings
Even though there aren't many rules these days when it comes to styling your jewellery, it’s worth considering more formal pieces like engagement and wedding rings. Bridal jewellery, including eternity rings and promise rings, are sentimental and symbolic pieces meant to commemorate the love you and your significant other have for one another, so it’s more likely that these pieces will be permanent fixtures on your hands.
Therefore, they can act as the perfect base from which you can mix and match your metals. If you have a bridal set that is gold, try adding a few silver bangles or some silver necklaces to your look.
3. Opt for a “Bridging Piece”
Bridging pieces are an item of jewellery that help bring your whole silver and gold look together. Arguably the statement piece of your entire look, a bridging piece is generally an item of jewellery that contains multiple metals and hues. Whether it be a silver charm bracelet with gold charms, a necklace with a handful of gold and silver pendants on it or perhaps a silver diamond ring with gold accents, these pieces help your gold and silver look make sense.
Ideally, you should start with these pieces and then begin adding other jewellery. If your bridging piece was a gold charm bracelet, for example, you could help accentuate the silver charms by wearing silver charm bracelets or some simple chain bracelets on either side of your bridging piece.
4. Earrings, Earrings, Earrings
Earrings are a great way to master the art of metal mixing, especially if you have multiple piercings but aren’t quite brave enough to rock a look that makes a bolder statement. Not to mention, mixing gold and silver earrings is an excellent way to show off your playful side. There are a handful of ways you can tackle layering your earrings. Keep it simple with a pair of silver hoop earrings or silver huggie earrings and some simple gold studs in your second ear piercing.
Opt for a more boho-chic look with some drop earrings and an edgy ear cuff, or dazzle people with a simple yet effective seamless gold and silver stud earrings stack. Not only is this a very simple and affordable way to update your look, but you can also have a lot of fun with it.
5. Stick to a Theme
It’s always good to stick to a theme when it comes to wearing gold and silver together, even if it’s subtle. Whether you are opting for a more minimalist look with fine jewellery, a vintage look with antique jewellery, an uber-sparkly look with diamond jewellery or a bright, bubbly and colourful look with gemstone jewellery, determine your theme and stick to it.
Mixing metals is one thing, but mixing styles too can be a bit much. You don’t want your look to feel as though it is an existential nightmare! The same goes for the tone of your jewellery; pair brushed gold with brushed silver, or ultra-shiny gold and silver together.
6. Have One Statement Piece
Much like the bridging pieces, statement pieces, whether they may be a grand diamond bracelet, a sparkly zirconia ring, an initial necklace, or something else, help the whole look to come together. However, to avoid your jewellery looking too cluttered and over the top, stick to one statement piece at a time. Gold and silver jewellery together is a statement in itself, so there is no need to overcomplicate things by wearing multiple diamond pendants, a giant pair of earrings and a bunch of thick bangles all at once. People simply won’t know where to look.
So, what’s your verdict on whether you can wear gold and silver together or not? Have we helped you become brave enough to give this trend a go or are you still turning your nose up at the idea? If we’ve converted you into a metal mixing enthusiast, be sure to check out our range of women’s and men’s silver jewellery to pair with your gold pieces. We also have kids’ silver jewellery! Wear now and pay later with Afterpay or one of our other finance options and save on shipping when you spend $69 or more.