What Gems Pair Best With Silver Jewelry?
Do you gravitate toward silver jewelry, but also want a piece with a little extra pizazz? Then you may wonder what gemstones pair best with this metal. Silver has a bright, cool-toned base. The best stones are usually ones that pick up on that coolness or play against it with a pop of warmth. Here are our top picks.
Turquoise
Turquoise is one of the most common stones used in Native American jewelry, which primarily uses sterling silver as a base metal for rings, cuffs, and pendants. Turquoise has a sky-blue to blue-green color, often veined with brown or black matrix from the host rock it forms in. It pairs well with silver because both have cool undertones, and the opaque stone contrasts cleanly against the metal’s polished or oxidized finish.
Amethyst
Amethyst is a purple variety of quartz, with color that ranges from pale lilac to deep violet depending on iron content and heat exposure during formation. Its cool purple tone sits close to silver on the color wheel, so the two don’t fight for attention. Amethyst is also faceted often, which lets silver settings catch light at multiple angles instead of just one flat surface.
Moonstone
Moonstone is a feldspar mineral known for adularescence: a glowing, almost blue-white sheen that moves across the stone as it catches light. That sheen reads as silvery-white itself, so the stone and the metal share a tone instead of competing. Moonstone is usually cut as a smooth cabochon, which keeps the light effect visible and gives silver settings a rounded shape to wrap around.
Labradorite
Labradorite is a feldspar mineral that displays labradorescence, a flash of blue, green, or gold that appears when light hits the stone at certain angles. The base color is typically gray to black, which sits in the same cool family as silver. That shared gray base means the stone doesn’t clash with the metal even when its flash colors shift.
Aquamarine
Aquamarine is a blue-green beryl, colored by trace iron, with shades ranging from pale ice-blue to deeper teal. It’s typically transparent and faceted, which lets light pass through the stone instead of just reflecting off it. Because the color already sits in cool-toned territory, silver keeps the stone looking crisp and bright instead of adding warmth that can dull its blue-green color.
Picking The Stone That Fits Your Style
So, where does that leave you? Each of these gems brings something different to silver. What works best comes down to the look you’re after and the silver piece you already have in mind.