Can you mix gold and silver jewellery?
Can you mix gold and silver jewellery?
Yes, you can absolutely mix gold and silver jewellery. You don't have to pick one metal and keep your whole jewellery look in the same colour. Combining warm gold with cool silver can actually create contrast, depth and a more personal expression.
It also means you get more out of the jewellery you already own. Your favourite silver necklace can easily be worn with gold rings, and your gold earrings don't have to match the rest of your jewellery.
But how do you get gold and silver jewellery to work together so the look feels considered rather than random?
Here are practical tips on how to mix gold and silver jewellery across necklaces, rings, earrings and bracelets.
Still unsure which metal suits you best? Read our guide to Gold or silver jewellery: which suits you best?.
How to mix gold and silver jewellery
There is no single right way to combine gold and silver. You can keep your look simple with just a few pieces, or combine several designs, metals and shapes at once.
If you want the metal mix to feel harmonious, you can start with four simple styling tricks.
Choose one metal as your base
If you usually wear mostly gold jewellery, you don't have to change your whole look to start mixing metals.
Instead, use gold as your base and add a few silver pieces. That could be a silver ring among your gold rings, or a silver necklace alongside your gold-plated ones.
The same applies the other way around, of course.
If you're new to mixed metals, think of roughly 70/30 as an easy starting point: let one metal dominate and use the other for contrast. It isn't a fixed rule, just a simple way to get started.
Let both metals repeat
One of the easiest tricks when you want to combine gold and silver jewellery is to let both metal colours appear in more than one place.
If you're wearing a gold ring and a silver ring, for example, you can echo the gold in your earrings and the silver in a necklace.
That way the metal mix becomes part of your whole look.
Use a mixed metal piece as the link
A piece that already combines gold- and silver-toned details can act as the link between the rest of your jewellery.
That could be a ring, a necklace or a bracelet featuring both metal colours.
From there it feels natural to add both gold and silver pieces around it.
Match shape and style rather than metal
Jewellery doesn't need to share the same metal colour to go together.
You can create cohesion by choosing pieces with:
similar shapes
the same type of stone or pearl
organic details
the same surface or finish
fine, minimalist designs
chunky statement elements
A simple gold ring and a simple silver ring may well work better together than two very different gold rings.
Mixing gold and silver necklaces
Necklaces are one of the easiest places to start if you want to try mixing gold and silver.
Try combining a short silver necklace with a slightly longer gold chain, for example. The difference in length gives each necklace room to breathe and makes the contrast between the metals clear.
A simple necklace stack might consist of:
a short, fine silver chain
a longer gold-plated necklace
a third necklace with a pendant
If you want a calm look, keep the chains relatively fine and simple.
For more contrast, combine a thin necklace with a chunkier chain, or add pendants, pearls or stones.
Can you mix gold and silver rings?
Yes. Gold and silver rings can easily be worn together, and rings are one of the easiest ways to try mixed metals.
You can either spread the metals across several fingers or stack rings in both metal colours on the same finger.
If you want to keep the look simple, start with:
one gold ring
one silver ring
a third ring that matches the shape or style of one of them
For a bolder ring look, combine different widths, textures and stones.
A good trick is to let one ring be the focal point and let the other rings support it.
If you'd like more inspiration on how to put several rings together, read our guide to ring stacking.
Mixing gold and silver earrings
If you have several piercings, a mixed metal ear stack is an easy way to play with both gold and silver.
You could combine, for example:
gold hoops with small silver studs
silver hoops with a small gold-plated stud
different hoops in gold and silver
a statement earring with smaller earrings in the opposite metal
You don't have to create a perfectly symmetrical look either. An asymmetric ear stack can make the combination even more personal.
If you only have one piercing in each ear, your gold earrings can easily be paired with a silver necklace, silver rings or a silver bracelet.
Mixing gold and silver bracelets
Bracelets work well for mixed metal styling, because you can naturally combine several designs on the same wrist.
Try a fine silver bracelet together with a gold-plated chain bracelet or a bolder bangle, for example.
You can create variation by combining:
gold- and silver-toned chain bracelets
fine and chunky bracelets
bangles and soft chains
metals with pearls or coloured stones
If you wear a watch, it can become part of your metal mix too. A silver-toned watch doesn't mean the rest of your jewellery has to be silver.
An easy method: mix gold and silver in three zones
If you feel your metal mix looks a little random, try thinking of the body as three jewellery zones:
Ears and neck: earrings and necklaces
Hands: rings
Wrists: bracelets and watch
You don't have to use both metals in all three zones.
Try this, for example:
Ears and neck: gold earrings + silver necklace
Hands: rings in both gold and silver
Wrists: gold bracelet
That way both metal colours repeat in several places without you having to wear a lot of jewellery.
It is a particularly good method if you feel that a single silver piece among lots of gold jewellery ends up looking a bit random.
Three mixed metal looks to try
The simple look
A silver necklace, small gold hoops and one simple gold ring.
The contrast between the metals is clear, but the look stays calm.
Layer on layer
A short gold necklace with a longer silver necklace, combined with rings in both metals.
Letting both gold and silver repeat in several places gives the look a natural cohesion.
The maximalist look
Mix several necklaces, rings, bracelets and earrings in both gold and silver.
Add pearls, charms or coloured stones if you want even more going on.
Here the pieces don't all have to match. Instead, pick one or two details that repeat, for example organic shapes, pearls or a particular type of stone.
What if gold and silver don't look right together?
If your metal mix feels a little messy, the combination of gold and silver itself is rarely the problem.
Look at these instead:
Placement:
If one metal only appears in one place, try repeating it somewhere else.
Scale:
Two very large statement pieces can compete with each other. Let one of them be simpler.
Surface:
Pieces with roughly the same finish are easier to combine. A polished gold piece and a polished silver piece will usually feel more cohesive than two very different surfaces.
Shape:
Repeat organic shapes, round details or the same type of stone, for example, to create a visual link between your pieces.
See all jewellery at A-Hjort and find your favourites in both gold and silver.