How to Style Antique Jewellery with Modern Outfits

Antique jewellery isn’t just for special occasions. Some of the most stylish people we know wear Georgian rings with jeans and Victorian lockets with a T-shirt. The trick is to wear it with confidence, and to mix it with what you already love.

Hands wearing several ornate rings — Rings worn every day, not saved for best. Photo: Aleksandr Dalakian / Unsplash.

Start with one good piece

If you are new to antique jewellery, begin with something you will wear every day: a ring, a pair of earrings or a pendant. A pair of engraved gold hoops or a gold heart locket works with everything from a jumper to an evening dress.

Engraved gold hoops, a gold heart locket, an opal half hoop ring and an enamel iris brooch — Good first pieces: engraved gold hoops, a heart locket, a half hoop ring and a small enamel brooch, from our collection. See more

Mix old and new

Antique pieces look their best alongside modern clothes. A Victorian cameo on a plain black polo neck, an Art Deco ring with a crisp white shirt, a Georgian brooch on a denim jacket: the contrast makes the antique piece feel fresh.

A crisp white blouse with a pendant and rings — A crisp white shirt is the perfect backdrop for old gold and diamonds. Photo: Zulfugar Karimov / Unsplash.

Layering necklaces

Layer two or three chains of different lengths and link styles, with a locket or pendant on one. Gold chains of different colours, yellow, rose and white, mix surprisingly well. Keep the look balanced: one statement piece, and quieter pieces around it.

Victorian 18ct Gold Prince of Wales Twist Necklace with Barrel Clasp

Layered gold necklaces of different lengths — Two or three chains of different lengths, with a pendant on one. Photo: Max Ducourneau / Unsplash.

Stacking rings

Antique rings stack beautifully: a wedding band with a half hoop, a cluster with a plain band, or several slim rings on one finger. Mix periods and colours of gold, but keep an eye on proportion. See our antique rings.

Hands with stacked coloured gemstone rings — Mix colours of stone and gold, and keep an eye on proportion. Photo: Dianna Hodza / Unsplash.

Don’t save it for best. Jewellery that stays in the box is jewellery nobody enjoys. The pieces I love most are the ones I wear every day.
Olly Gerrish, AJC Founder

Brooches, reinvented

Brooches are having a revival. Wear one on a lapel, a coat, a hat or a bag; cluster two or three together; or pin one at the neck of a shirt. An Art Nouveau enamel brooch or a small animal brooch adds personality to the simplest outfit. See our antique brooches.

A brooch pinned to the lapel of a grey blazer — A single brooch on a lapel lifts the simplest jacket. Photo: COPPERTIST WU / Unsplash.

Cameo, elephant, fox and hound and Georgian gem-set brooches — A cameo, an elephant, a fox and hound and a Georgian gem-set brooch: brooches with personality, from our collection. See more

For men

A signet ring, a gold chain, a pair of antique cufflinks or a tie pin: small pieces, worn well, add character to a man’s wardrobe. Our guide to gold chains for men has more.

A man adjusting his cufflinks — Small pieces, worn well. Photo: the frosted cake studio / Unsplash.

Cartier gold cufflinks, lapis cufflinks, a monkey tie pin and a crested signet ring — Cufflinks by Cartier, lapis cufflinks, an Edwardian tie pin and a crested signet ring, from our collection. See more

Colour and skin tone

Yellow gold flatters warmer skin tones; platinum and white metals suit cooler ones, though the best rule is simply to wear what you love. Coloured stones can pick up the colour of your eyes or your clothes.

Yellow gold and platinum antique rings — Warm yellow gold and cool platinum: antique rings from our collection. See more

Our view

Wear antique jewellery as though it were made yesterday: every day, with confidence, and with whatever you feel good in. That is what it was made for.