There are so many “rules” people claim exist when wearing jewellery that often contradict or cancel each other out. The only rule that truly matters when it comes to bespoke jewellery is wear what makes you happy and makes you feel good.
Ultimately, that is the most important rule we abide by when working on custom jewellery projects; your jewellery should tell your story, and we use our extensive design knowledge to bring it to life, not to tell you what you should and should not do with it.
A lot of supposed "faux pas”, such as wearing mixed metals, choosing personal style over subtlety and wearing pieces from different styles and collections, are often just as quickly disproven through particularly stylish layering and embracing your personal style.
With that said, there are some mistakes you can make, but they are less about style issues and more about potentially causing damage to what should be timeless pieces. Here are some of the biggest mistakes we see, and how you can style around them.
Wearing Bracelets And Watches Together
Bracelet layering is a noble and fine art, and the soft clink of an arm full of bangles is usually the only consequence of this.
However, you should be a little careful when putting bangles or bracelets on the same wrist as your watch, as the heavier weight of the watch’s construction can bump against a lighter bracelet, causing scratches, slight dents or even worse if they clatter against each other.
The best way around this is to wear bracelets on one wrist and your watch on another, but which one goes where?
Wearing Large Bracelets, Watches and Chunky Jewellery On Your Dominant Hand
Ultimately, jewellery should never get in the way; the reason why bulky signet rings are worn on the pinky finger of your non-dominant hand is precisely so they avoid interfering with anything that requires dexterity.
The same is true of watches and chunky bracelets; most people rely on their dominant hand for any task, which means more motion, more bumps and more chances for a beautiful statement piece to get damaged.
For 91 per cent of the population, that means you should avoid putting chunky jewellery on your right hand, and for the rest that means keeping your left hand free. Ambidextrous people can do whatever they want.
Putting Your Jewellery On First In The Morning
A lot of people love to slip on a wedding ring as soon as they wake up in the morning, but this can be a problem if your jewellery gets exposed to your morning routine.
Harsh chemicals, creams, humidity, sweat and other environmental effects can tarnish your precious metals, but thankfully there is a relatively easy fix.
Do your morning routine, whether it includes hand cream, body washes or hair sprays, and then put your jewellery on after you are done getting ready.
It is a very small step, but it helps to prevent a lot of potential damage to your everyday pieces.
Wearing Out Your Rings With The Rigours Of Everyday Life
On a similar note to bracelets, try to think about practicality when it comes to wearing big rings, delicate rings, chunky rings or layering rings, in order to avoid them collecting too many scratches.
Clapping can cause damage, as can holding a glass and hearing that distinctive clink as your rings tap against it. As well as this, if you are travelling a lot, try to take the rings off the hand that you are using to carry your suitcase.
This does not mean that you should avoid wearing rings entirely if you’re expected to carry anything; it just means being careful, wearing your jewellery close to the knuckle without affecting blood flow, and having a box or safe place to put your pieces if you do need to take them off.
Not Thinking Long-Term About Your Jewellery
There are often two speeds when it comes to jewellery: costume pieces built to last an evening and stylish items built to last a lifetime.
In the modern jewellery landscape, these two aspects are taken to their logical extremes, which means that before you book your consultation for your dream bespoke jewellery piece, think about what you would want to wear five, ten, even 20 years from now.
Value matters far more than price; when you are focusing on the long term, a piece that remains beautiful decades from now is worth more than a cheap piece that breaks the second time you wear it.