Hermes Olympe Earrings Box Calfskin Silver Gold H500178FK37

Palladium changes the whole mood of a piece. Where the gold versions of this earring feel warm and slightly dressed up, the palladium-plated pair reads cooler and calmer, closer to silver than to champagne, and it suits grey, white and denim in a way that gold simply does not. I bought them to break a long stretch of wearing yellow gold with everything.

The structure is the same: a disc of box calfskin, smooth and even, edged in plated metal at 3.3 cm across and a centimetre through the middle. At eight grams each they hang without pulling, and the flat face keeps the silhouette graphic rather than fussy.

I wear these most with a white shirt and a leather jacket, and they are the only earrings I own that hold their own against denim. On a bare neck in summer, the cool metal reads almost like a shadow under the ear, which is a very quiet effect for jewellery.

Worth knowing: palladium plating is durable but not indestructible, and it is the one finish that will look flat if it is left in perfume or hairspray. I put jewellery on last and wipe these with a soft cloth at night. The calfskin face should also stay dry, since water marks smooth leather.

If you wear silver rings and a steel watch, this is the Olympe that belongs with them, and I would choose it again for that reason alone. A year in, the plating on mine still looks even, which I put down to keeping sprays and creams away from it.