Jewellery Gifts She Will Actually Wear

Look at what she already wears

The best jewellery gifts are not surprises at all. They are pieces that fit so naturally into what she already wears that she puts them on the next morning and keeps them on. The clues are in front of you.

Start with the metal. Look at her watch, her everyday earrings, the rings she never takes off. If they are warm and yellow, choose gold tone; if they are cool and white, silver tone. If she mixes them freely, either will do.

Then look at scale. A woman who wears tiny studs and a fine chain every day is unlikely to wear a chunky collar, however beautiful. Match the size of what she wears now, or go a very small step bolder.

Finally, check her ears. It sounds obvious, but earrings for unpierced ears are a common and unhappy mistake.

A set takes the guesswork out

A matching pendant and earrings is the easiest gift to get right. It arrives complete, it looks generous, and she can wear the pieces together for an occasion or apart every day.

The Lucie set (£39.00) is a clear pear-cut stone in a smooth bezel at the throat, with matching teardrop studs. The bezel protects the edges and gives a clean, modern outline, the chain has a 5cm extension so it can sit at the collarbone or lower over a neckline, and the whole set weighs about 3.2g, so she will forget she is wearing it. It is stainless steel in a warm gold tone.

For someone who likes a little more movement, the Rond set (£39.00) pairs a round claw-set pendant with small hoops, each with a stone that swings as she turns her head.

The pearl that suits everyone

If you know nothing else about her taste, choose a pearl. It is the one piece of jewellery that looks as right with a T-shirt as with an evening dress, and on a woman of twenty as on a woman of seventy.

The Perle Seule necklace (£39.00) is a single freshwater pearl on a gold tone snake chain so fine it almost disappears. Each pearl has a gently irregular shape, so no two are quite alike, and it slides freely along the chain to settle at the centre. It is quietly expensive-looking, and very hard to dislike.

For a more classic gesture, the Classic Pearl Strand (£49.00) is a full strand of round simulated pearls punctuated with small polished beads, at a length that sits at the base of the neck.

For the woman who dresses up

Some women already have the everyday pieces. For them, choose something for the evenings: a bracelet that turns a plain sleeve into an occasion.

The Rivière tennis bracelet (£49.00) is a continuous line of round cubic zirconia, each stone lifted in four prongs to catch the light, closing with a box clasp and a fold-over safety catch. At 4mm wide it is slim enough to wear with a watch and bright enough to wear alone. It comes in gold tone and silver tone.

A signet ring, with care

A signet ring is the most personal gift on this list, and the only one where size matters. If you can borrow a ring she wears on the same finger, a jeweller or a printable ring sizer will measure it in a minute. If you cannot, choose a necklace instead.

For the woman who wears one ring and never takes it off, the Josephine signet (£39.00) has a flat rectangular face with bevelled edges on a solid, polished band, about 7g, with a satisfying weight. The Oval Signet (£39.00) is softer, a mirror-polished oval on a tapering band. Both are made to be worn on the little finger, the ring finger or the index.

When to order

Allow seven to ten working days for delivery. To be sure a gift arrives before Christmas, order by the first week of December, and earlier if you plan to wrap it yourself.

And because no one gets every gift right, returns are free for 30 days. If the metal or the size is wrong, she can exchange it for the piece she would have chosen herself.