The Ask Me Anything I posted on Instagram last weekend generated more questions about jewelry than anything else. Necklaces in particular. How do I layer them, how do I start a collection, are there any rules. I answered some of it in the AMA recap I shared here on Tuesday, but the topic felt like it deserved its own post.
I’ve always liked the idea of layering jewelry. A single necklace can fall flat. It benefits from a complement, something that works against it rather than with it. I like a messy arrangement, a thrown-on look. This instinct goes back to high school and college. I wore puka shells, heishi beads, turquoise and coral, sometimes all together, without much thought. Nothing was valuable, but the look had a collected, well-traveled feeling that I was drawn to.
Thin gold chains were part of it too, each with a single charm, layered and spaced evenly across my chest. I collected charms even then and acquired an assortment from Shane's in Westwood, a tiny shoebox of a shop and a popular place to go for gold jewelry. Eventually, I started combining the two, colorful beaded necklaces alongside gold chains, and that’s more or less where things still stand.
Over the last few years I rediscovered some of the older pieces, pushed to the back of a jewelry box or stored in small boxes I forgot about. They’re not investment pieces, but they have just as much value to me as more established or expensive pieces I own now. Pairing old alongside new is where I have the most fun. A charm from fifty years ago hanging from a chain bought recently. It’s how a collection comes together and starts to look interesting. I’m so grateful I kept those old pieces.
A simple gold necklace and charm is a good place to start a layered look. Mine is a Devon Woodhill disc on a delicate gold chain. It goes with everything. It’s beautiful worn alone yet easily handles multiple additional layers. A chain with a carabiner is the key piece that adds versatility for a number of charms and the collection grows from there. Treat the chain and charm as the foundation. Add a pendant or additional charms that mean something to you and it becomes a personal statement. Collect more charms over time and swap them out or bundle them together on a charm locket depending on mood. On mixing metals: I don’t mind it, but if you’re just starting out it’s easier to stay in one family. All gold, all rose gold.
I often use pearls for layering. I rarely wear a strand on its own. Pairing them with another piece strips away any formality. I like all shapes, colors and sizes. They’re all beautiful and will brighten every look. A delicate strand calls for something equally delicate, like a tennis necklace. A grey or white baroque have more weight and work better next to a larger charm on a simple gold chain.
I’ve always loved adding color to the mix, especially in the summer. Lately, I’m drawn to the emerald green of malachite.The color works with everything and has a way of making even a simple striped shirt or a white tee feel pulled together. A Zoe Chicco malachite bead necklace has been on regular rotation paired with a tennis necklace. My latest addition is an enamel green and gold link necklace from Dorsey, part of a limited edition that won’t be restocked. I’m looking forward to wearing the two together. The contrast in scale between the delicate and heftier beads is exactly the kind of tension that makes a combination work.
Deep carnelian red is another color that I love in jewelry. There's a warmth to it that works across seasons and sits well against gold. A gifted Jennifer Behr jasper piece does exactly that. The elongated pear-shaped beads alternating with smaller rounds are visually interesting and unlike anything else I own. An old Diane Cotton tumbled red coral necklace is a one-of-a-kind find with a completely different weight and texture. It's one of my favorite pieces. I also like a singular bold piece for contrast. An agate pebble on a leather cord or a sculptural brass piece would do this. A Van Cleef & Arpels Alhambra works beautifully alongside all of it, as do a pair of vintage 18k gold earrings.
I look at travel as an opportunity to add to the collection and find something lasting, a souvenir that outlives the trip by decades. Charms, lockets, pendants are relatively easy to find almost anywhere. I like to wander into small antique shops and see if anything catches my eye.
If you’re starting a collection from scratch, begin with one piece you feel strongly about and let everything else follow. A gold chain is a good start and becomes the signature piece to set the tone. From there, the collection builds itself, slowly and over years.
One thing that’s held across all of it: each combination had a clear anchor. The malachite, coral, and pearls played with chains and charms rotated around them. When something feels like too much, I remove the last piece added or swap in another piece that balances the stack.
Almost everything I own has a story attached to it. Jewelry is the one category where I hold onto everything, even pieces that have fallen out of rotation. Sometimes I come back to something I'd forgotten about and it feels like a new find.
The lucite teardrop charm with the word LOVE is a good example. My parents gave it to me when I was fifteen. It sat in my jewelry box unseen for decades. I dug it out recently and it’s back on the chain. I treasure it more than ever and carries more weight now that they’re gone.
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