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If you’re on the hunt for an engagement ring, you know that there are so many factors to take into consideration. After all, this is a once-in-a-lifetime purchase and a piece of jewelry that will be worn for a lifetime. Some of the big decisions revolve around what gemstone to choose, what metal, what color, what style, what shape… and on and on it goes.
to choose, what metal, what color, what style, what shape… and on and on it goes.
But there is one factor that we often tend to overlook:
Skin tone.
Your skin tone can impact whether a piece of jewelry looks good on you or not. This is because certain gemstones and metals complement the certain skin tone. When choosing your engagement ring, knowing your skin tone will help you to pick out the metal color and gemstone that suits you best.
So, in order to know how to match your engagement ring with your skin tone, let’s begin by identifying what your skin tone is.
Finding Your Skin Tone
Let me clarify here that skin tone is not the same as skin color. Skin color refers to the outer layer of your skin and the color that it exhibits. Your skin color can be affected by environmental factors such as the weather. If you get sunburnt, your skin color gets affected.
Skin tone, however, refers to the undertone of your appearance. It does not change, regardless of external factors, and has its roots in your ethnicity and biological makeup. The main way to identify your skin tone is by checking out how your veins look through your skin.
1. Warm Skin Tone
The easiest way to identify your skin tone is by taking a look at the veins on your arms. Do they appear green? Those with green-hued veins appearing through their skin are categorized as having a warm skin tone. Warm skin tones also tend to react to the sun by deepening in color but not burning.
Some famous celebrities with warm skin tones are Cameron Diaz, Nicole Kidman, Amy Adams, and Naomi Campbell.
2. Cool Skin Tone
If your veins appear blue or purplish, then you have a cool skin tone. Also, if you find that your skin reddens and burns but does not tan when exposed to the sun, then you have a cool skin tone due to a lower count of melanin.
Famous Hollywood celebrities with cool skin tones include Reese Witherspoon, Kim Kardashian, and Anne Hathaway.
3. Neutral Skin Tone
If identifying the color of your veins is difficult, it is likely that you have a neutral skin tone. Those with neutral skin tones are the lucky ones when it comes to jewelry because almost all colors complement their skin tone. You can get as creative as you wish and experiment as you desire.
Choosing Your Ring Metal
When choosing the metal color for your engagement ring, there are three main choices available to you. These are white metals, yellow gold, and rose gold. Of course, there are also those somewhat non-conventional colors such as black and green gold, for example, but let’s focus on the most popular ones.
The colors that go best with warm skin tones are yellow-gold and copper-toned metals. It complements the undertones of your skin and looks beautiful.
For those with cool skin tones, white metals such as silver, platinum, or white gold, look the best. White metals appear cool and are ideally suited for you.
Where does rose gold fall in this categorization? Rose gold is ideal for both warm and cool skin types because it falls in between white and yellow metals. It is a versatile metal that complements any skin tone, which is part of its widespread appeal.
Choosing Your Gemstone
The next main factor is the color and type of gemstone to choose. As we know, while selecting the right metal is important, it is the gemstone in your engagement ring that steals the limelight. Selecting a gemstone that matches your skin tone will create a more flattering and lively look and really stand out on you! Conversely, an unmatching stone can cause your skin to look dull and drained.
For warm skin tones, gemstones containing earthy colors are ideal and will really complement your appearance. Think oranges, yellows, browns, reds, and darker hues. Some gemstones that will suit warm tones are citrine, agate, peridot, yellow and brown diamonds, rubies, garnets, and morganite.
For cool skin tones, bright and lively colors look best, such as blues, purples, and greens. Some ideal stones include topaz, blue sapphire, turquoise, tanzanite, aquamarine, amethyst, tourmaline, and opal.
If you have a neutral skin tone, you can mix and match metals and gemstones as you wish, experimenting with what suits your fancy.
On the other hand, there are some colors that go with any skin tone. This is especially true of neutrals such as black and white. White gemstones such as white topaz, diamonds, moissanite, and white sapphire, and black gemstones such as black onyx, black diamonds, black spinel, and black moissanite are ideal for any skin tone.
The diamond engagement ring, the typical choice for most people, is perfect for an engagement ring because it suits anyone. I have not yet heard of a person on whom a colorless diamond did not look fabulous!
A new trend for non-conventional couples, a black engagement ring will suit anyone if you are bold enough to wear it.
Wrapping Up
While it is always useful to have color theory information in your toolkit, remember that these are just guidelines after all. There is no hard and fast rule, and in today’s jewelry world, even guidelines don’t matter much anymore! However, what matters is to choose an engagement ring that will look stunning on the wearer. And sometimes, your intuition will tell you all you need to know when it comes to choosing that perfect engagement ring!
