The reason cheap gold jewellery turns skin green is copper. When gold is thin plating over base metal, the plating wears through and your skin reacts with the exposed copper underneath. Solid gold, even lower karats, does not have that problem because there is nothing cheaper hiding underneath. Vermeil sits in the middle: it is a thick plating of real gold over sterling silver, and it holds up far better than thin electroplate. If you wear pieces often enough, vermeil eventually wears through too, but that takes years, not weeks. The brands that use real materials are the ones you can actually wear every day without drama.

Jenny Bird's 14K pieces like the Princess Cut Diamond Lariat and Pear Cut Huggie Earrings are investment pieces, but they are built to last as long as you own them. For something less precious, Dorsey's Enamel Moissanite Bracelets come in 18K gold vermeil and sit at a price where you can actually buy multiple colours without guilt. BaubleBar's Sterling Silver Birthstone Ring and Necklace give you solid material at an entry price point. The Keefe Pendant from Khaite in silver is understated enough that you forget it is on, which is exactly when you know a piece is earning its keep.

The pieces you actually wear most are the ones that require zero maintenance. Jenny Bird's Mini Lennon Hoops, Zeina Slim Chain, and Metier's Small Chain Strap are so simple that you put them on without considering whether they match. Dorsey's 14K illusion huggie in oval-cut lab diamond is small enough not to announce itself, but real enough not to disappoint. These are not the conversation pieces. They are the pieces that stay on through showers and workouts, tarnish minimally, and look exactly the same in a year as they do the day you bought them. That reliability is the opposite of most affordable jewellery, which is why it matters.

Green skin is the mark of jewellery that cut corners on materials. Solid gold, vermeil, and sterling silver do not have that problem, which means you can actually buy pieces without worrying whether your skin will react badly. Jenny Bird, Dorsey, BaubleBar, Metier and Khaite all make jewellery you can wear constantly without this anxiety. If you take one thing away, it is that real metal costs more upfront but pays for itself in pieces you wear without flinching, and in the years you spend not thinking about what is happening under the surface.