Precious Metals and Skin Tone

What colour suits me?

There are many elements to consider when selecting a piece of jewellery that you will love and wear every day. The design, the shape and colour of gemstones and diamonds and of course, which precious metal to create the setting. When selecting the precious best metal to suit you - silver, white gold, yellow gold, rose gold, platinum etc., there are several things to consider. However, first and foremost, it’s best to select the metal colour that best compliments your skin tone. 

Your skin tone, also called undertone, is different from your complexion, which is the shade of your skin (light, medium, dark). Your undertone will remain the same no matter how much sun you get, even if you’re pale in the winter and tan in the summer. There are three different undertones - cool, warm, and neutral. So how does one determine their own skin tone? First of all, it’s best to cleanse your skin of any cosmetics and creams. You need to be able to view your skin in its “raw” state after cleansing. Wait 15 minutes so that your skin has time to settle and adjust after any cleansing or scrubbing is just experienced…a flushed face would detract from your real skin tone.

The next step is to find a place with natural light only. Lighting can cast either green or yellow tones on to your skin which will affect your analysis. If you can sit next to a window on a sunny day you can get the right light otherwise you may need to take a mirror outside. Hold a white piece of paper up to your face. Looking in a mirror, try to see how your skin looks in contrast to the white paper. It may appear to have a yellow cast, a blue-red or rosy-coloured cast. It could also possibly seem to have a greyish cast.

The following is a guide to help you to determine your skin’s undertone.

• If your skin appears yellowish or sallow beside the white paper, you have a warm skin tone.  
• If your skin appears pink, rosy, or blueish-red, then you have a cool skin tone.
• If your skin appears grey, your skin probably has an olive complexion with a neutral undertone. The green from your complexion and the yellowish undertone combines to create this effect. You can experiment with neutral and warm tones, since you fall somewhere in between. 
• If you can't determine any cast of yellow, olive, or pink, you have a neutral skin tone.

Besides the white paper there is another simple test. A sheet of gold and silver foil is required. Hold a sheet of gold foil in front of your face so that it reflects light back on your skin. Note whether it makes your face look greyish or washed out, or if it enhances your skin. Then try with a sheet of silver foil.

• If the gold foil looks best, you have a warm skin tone and should wear yellow or rose gold.
• If the reflection from the silver foil makes your skin glow, you have a cool skin tone thus silver, white gold and platinum are the best metal choices for you.
• If you don't notice a difference (both silver and gold are flattering), then you are likely to have a neutral skin tone and can wear all precious metal colours.

Once you have determined your skin tone its best to try on jewellery in different metal colours and see how well the different colours sit with your skin.

A few final points:

• If you have very fair Caucasian skin with a reddish undertone then you should avoid rose gold as it brings out the pink in your skin. Try silver, white gold and 9ct yellow gold.
• If you have very fair Caucasian skin with a cool undertone then rose gold will look amazing. The warmth of yellow gold is complimentary as well.
• If you have an olive Mediterranean complexion and are lightly tanned you are truly blessed as any metal colour will look wonderful on you.
• If you have dark African or Arabic complexion then the warmth of 18 to 22ct yellow gold will look fabulous. You can also fortunately wear all the other metal colours.
• If you have pale to dark Asian skin, yellow gold will certainly suit, especially in the higher carat weights. Rose gold can also be wonderfully flattering to Asian skins.

To conclude, it’s a question of experimenting and we would be delighted to assist you in selecting the perfect piece of jewellery to suit your skin tone.