Find Your Jewelry Undertone With Simple Color Clues

Your undertone is the subtle warmth, coolness, or balance beneath your skin’s surface color, and it can offer a starting point when you’re choosing between gold and silver. Look at your face, neck, and wrist in indirect daylight without a filter or strongly colored light; a tan, redness, or a change in your surface skin color does not necessarily change your undertone.

Check the product’s listed specifications when evaluating start with your skin, not the jewelry.

Veins that appear more blue or purple may suggest a cool undertone, while veins that look greener may suggest a warm undertone; if you see both, your undertone may be neutral. You can also hold plain white and cream fabric near your face: if crisp white looks more flattering, you may lean cool, while cream may flatter warmer undertones. Treat these as clues rather than a test with a single definitive result, especially if lighting makes colors hard to judge.

Put on similar-size pieces in yellow gold and silver, then look in a mirror under the same natural light to see which one makes your complexion look more even and lively. Warm undertones often harmonize with yellow gold, cool undertones often harmonize with silver or white-toned metals, and neutral undertones may feel at home in both. Keep the pieces similar in size and style so you’re comparing metal color rather than the effect of a bold design against a delicate one.

If both metals look good, you do not need to force yourself into one category; try mixing them or choosing the metal that works best with the clothes and jewelry you wear most. If your skin reacts to jewelry, prioritize the metal’s actual composition and your known sensitivities over its color, since a gold- or silver-colored finish alone does not tell you what touches your skin. For more help making the comparison, explore our gold-or-silver jewelry guide and our Find the Jewelry That Makes You Glow – Jewelry Guide eBook & Checklist.