Hermes Olympe Earrings Box Calfskin Yellow Gold Craie H011123CC10

The larger Olympe is a different animal from the small version: at 1.3 inches across and almost four tenths of an inch wide, it is a disc of chalk-white box calfskin ringed in yellow gold plate, and it holds its own against hair and collars that would swallow something daintier.

Box calfskin is the smooth, finely grained French leather that takes colour like a camera takes light, so the craie tone stays even and light rather than chalky or coarse. Paired with gold plating, it looks warm in daylight and softens further in the evening.

At eight grams each they are still comfortable for a full day, and I have worn mine from a morning train through to dinner without noticing them. On dark hair the craie tone reads as a bright, quiet point of contrast, which is how I like white accessories to behave.

The honest caveat: a pale leather face is going to show handling over time. Skin oils and sunscreen are the two things I keep away from the surface, and I store this pair in a pouch rather than loose in a dish, because the white will pick up a mark if it rubs against other jewellery.

With cream knitwear or an oatmeal shirt, they are the pair that finishes a plain outfit without adding a colour to it. That restraint is why mine get worn on more days than any other earrings I own, and the gold edge has kept its colour better than I expected.