Hermes Mini Pop H Earrings Lacquered Metal Rose Gold Orange Field H608002FOB8

Orange is the colour most people flinch from in jewellery, and it is also the one that does the most work against navy, grey and white. These Pop H studs in Orange Field convinced me of that within a week of owning them.

The shade is a true clementine orange, bright without veering into neon, poured as gloss lacquer into a rose-gold plated frame. Nine millimetres high and seven across, the motif is small enough to be a wink rather than a shout, but on a plain white shirt it is the first thing the eye finds.

I wore them through a summer of weddings and long weekends, usually with bare shoulders and a white dress, occasionally against a navy blazer. In both cases they behaved like a tan line for the face: instant warmth, no effort. They also make an excellent travel earring, because at two grams apiece you can sleep in a plane seat and barely know they are there.

The honest catch with orange is the same as with any saturated lacquer: it argues with red, so I leave them at home when the outfit is already loud. The plated finish also wants the usual care, last on before you leave and first off when you get home, well away from scent and chlorine.

For anyone slowly building a set of the Pop H studs, this is the pair that gives the paler colours a jolt, and the one I would buy first if most of my clothes were navy and white.