Hermes Olympe Earrings Box Calfskin Yellow Gold Noir H500358FC89

These are the earrings I wear when I do not want to think about jewellery at all. Small earrings earn their keep on days that have no occasion attached to them. At just over a centimetre across and a quarter of an inch wide, they sit close to the ear and go with everything, which is more useful than impressive and exactly the point.

The Olympe pairs box calfskin with yellow gold plating, and the contrast between the two is the whole design: smooth French calf, almost black, against a warm metal edge. Each earring weighs about four grams, so they are light enough to forget for a whole day, and the finish is worked so the leather stays flat and even.

As everyday jewellery they behave well. I wear mine with a white shirt and no other earrings, and also alongside a small hoop when I want a little asymmetry; the black leather keeps them from reading formal in daylight.

The trade-off is care. Plated metal dulls when it meets perfume, hairspray and sunscreen, so I spray first and put the earrings on last, and I keep the calfskin away from water, since a soak will mark smooth leather. A soft cloth after wearing keeps both materials as they arrived.

Made in France and built to disappear into a wardrobe, they are the pair I would hand someone who wants a first piece from this house rather than a statement. A year of regular wear has done nothing to the black calfskin beyond a faint warming where I hold them.