Hermes Mini Maillon Earrings Lacquered Metal Silver Rose Candeur H100052FPD2

Silver-toned jewellery with a soft pink enamel is a harder combination to find than you would think, which is why this Mini Maillon in Rose Candeur has barely left my rotation since I found it at the end of winter.

Palladium plating gives a white, almost mirror-cool metal, and the Rose Candeur lacquer is a gentle, dusty pink rather than a bubblegum one. The contrast is subtle: at a distance the earrings read as pale silver, and only up close does the pink announce itself. The link is two centimetres by 1.2, with about four grams of weight per ear.

They suit the cool half of a wardrobe, grey flannel and white poplin and chambray, and they are the pair I take when I want pink without a rose-gold glow. In bright daylight the link looks almost like a fine silver hoop, which is a useful trick for anyone who finds pink too sweet for working hours.

Honest note: if your other jewellery is yellow or rose gold, this pair will look mismatched beside it, because the palladium is genuinely cool and will not warm up. It wants company at the same temperature. Also, as with all plated pieces, keep it away from chlorine and beauty products; a dry cloth after each wear is enough to keep the shine honest.

Made in France, and quietly one of the most versatile small earrings I have worn in years, though I would still call it a considered choice rather than an impulse one.