How to Find Your Undertone for Jewelry: Gold or Silver?

Your undertone is the subtle warmth, coolness, or balance beneath your skin’s surface, and it is different from how light or deep your skin is or how much you tan. To find your undertone for jewelry, we recommend comparing gold and silver beside your face in indirect daylight, when you can see which metal makes your skin look more even and lively.

Hold a yellow-gold piece and a silver-tone piece near your jawline or try on similar-size earrings, then look at your whole face rather than just the jewelry. If gold looks harmonious, you may lean warm; if silver looks harmonious, you may lean cool; and if both look equally natural, you may have a neutral undertone.

Check the product’s listed specifications when evaluating compare gold and silver side by side.

Veins that appear more green can suggest a warm undertone, while veins that appear more blue or purple can suggest a cool one, but lighting and skin depth can make this test hard to interpret. You can also compare how you look in a bright white shirt versus a cream one, then use the jewelry comparison to settle any mixed results: cooler undertones often favor bright white, while warmer undertones may favor cream.

Undertone is a helpful starting point, not a rule that says you must give up a metal you love: pale gold, rich yellow gold, bright silver, and oxidized silver can look different against the same skin. If a metal feels less flattering right beside your face, try it as a bracelet or ring, mix it with another metal, or choose stones and clothing colors that bring the look together.

Once you have a likely undertone, try your favorite pieces in the lighting and outfits you wear most often, since a quick comparison at home may be more useful than a label alone. Our Find the Jewelry That Makes You Glow – Jewelry Guide eBook & Checklist is a digital download focused on skin undertones and the gold-versus-silver choice; you can also read our gold or silver jewelry guide for more on making that comparison.