Men’s jewelry is mostly metal. The most popular are gold and silver. Only wear one metal tone per ensemble. Gold is a warmer hue that reads as a yellow accent on the color wheel. It complements browns and other earth tones as well as royal blue and hunter green. If you’re purchasing several pieces of gold jewelry, keep an eye out for severe tonal differences.
Chrome or polished stainless steel is neutral silver-tone metal. They are greys, outside the color wheel, on the black-to-white gradient. They don’t clash with anything, but they don’t offer the same eye-catching contrasts as wearing gold. Silver jewelry like sterling silver chain bracelets looks great with black or dark grey clothes, but it may also be worn with brighter colors in the summer without overpowering the delicate hues.
These orange metals should be handled as such. More daring than gold or silver, they need control. An ancestral copper ring or shirt buttons/rivets may add to a simple pant and shirt. Less precious stones are needed. Like handbags, they’re still feminine to most. The maximum is one color stone on a ring or ear stud. Anything more is either ostentatious or garish.
Turquoise is an exception for men who dress in a Western manner. It’s a Southwestern gentleman’s stone. A ring, bolo tie, or belt buckle with a collared shirt. It’s a brilliant hue, so please use it sparingly and only when you want to attract attention to the stone.
Anyone who isn’t a teen or a rebel should avoid leather. Wear it in natural earth tones, not black, and never with flashy metal studs. Unless you ride a motorbike, and then just when you ride it.
Men’s jewelry is increasingly using wood and bone, sometimes as a nod to ethnic customs. They’re typically on the lighter side of earth tones–just be careful not to wear them next to anything that’s close in hue but not identical. To make an odd material like that work, it has to stand out.
Wedding rings and heirlooms are the exceptions.
If your wedding ring doesn’t match your other metal items, don’t worry. It will just attract a little attention, but having others note your visual sign of devotion is fine. If it’s an heirloom, try to match, but if it’s tiny (like a sterling silver gothic ring or watch), a clash of metals is okay.
