Everyday Jewellery: The Pieces You Never Take Off

There is a small set of jewellery most people put on every morning without thinking. A pair of earrings, a fine chain, maybe a bracelet. They go to work, to the shops and out to dinner, and the day you forget them you feel it. This guide is about choosing those pieces well.

What makes a piece everyday

Everyday jewellery is less about style and more about how a piece behaves through a long day.

• It sits close. Earrings that hug the lobe and necklaces that rest at the collarbone stay out of the way of scarves, bags and phone calls.
• It closes securely. Hinged hoops, post backs and lobster clasps hold through a full day without you checking them.
• It is light. A piece you can feel by lunchtime will not last as a daily habit.
• It goes with everything. Simple shapes in one warm metal suit a T-shirt and a dress equally.

Start with the ears

Earrings are the piece most people never take off, so they are where an everyday set begins.

The Halo Hoops are a larger gold plated hoop, 4cm across with a hinged latch, chosen because big hoops usually mean sore earlobes by ten o'clock and these weigh about 8.3g each. If you prefer something closer, the Duet Hoops sit close to the lobe and pair 22k gold plated metal with silver tone metal, so they go with whatever else you are wearing. For studs, the Lynx Studs are tiger eye in a 22k gold plated bezel on a 925 silver post, small enough to forget you have them in.

Then a fine chain

A dainty necklace is the second piece of an everyday set. It should rest at the collarbone and be fine enough to sit under a shirt collar or over bare skin.

The Hush Necklace is a thread-fine 22k gold plated chain with four beads and no pendant, so fine that from a step away only the beads show. The Glint Necklace keeps its clear stones gathered at the base of the throat on a 22k gold plated bead chain, small enough for the office and still on when the day turns to dinner.

A bracelet if you like one

Not everyone wears a bracelet every day, because the wrist meets keyboards, sinks and car doors. If you do, choose one that stays light. The Talisman Bracelet has a tiger eye on a 22k gold plated chain with small pearls along it, and fits a 14 to 17cm wrist.

One metal or two

An everyday set is easiest when the metals agree. If most of what you own is warm gold, keep to gold and the pieces will sit together without any thought. If you already wear a silver watch or a white gold ring, a two-tone piece like the Duet Hoops bridges the two, so nothing you put on in the morning looks out of place by the afternoon.

Keep it small

An everyday set works best at three or four pieces. More than that and you start choosing each morning, and the set stops saving you time. Pick one pair of earrings, one chain and perhaps one bracelet, and let them become part of how you look.

Looking after pieces you wear daily

The jewellery you wear most needs the most care, because it meets everything you do. Take it off for showers, swimming and sleep, put perfume and lotion on first, and wipe it with a soft cloth at the end of the day. Our guide to caring for gold plated jewellery goes through each step.

Browse dainty gold necklaces, stud earrings and gold hoop earrings to build your own set. If you want to wear more than one chain at a time, read how to layer necklaces.