The jewelry you actually wear is the jewelry you do not have to think about. Everything else sits in a dish on the dresser, which is a shame, because the piece in the dish is usually the nicer one.

Whether you can forget about a piece comes down to one thing, and it is not the price. It is the metal underneath.

Why does some jewelry tarnish and some does not?

Tarnish is a reaction between the metal and the world around it: moisture, the acidity of your skin, chlorine, sweat, sunscreen, perfume. Some metals react and some do not.

Sterling silver reacts and darkens slightly over time, which polishes back. Copper and brass react faster and can leave a mark on your skin. Plated metals are fine while the plating is intact and behave like the base metal once it wears through. Stainless steel does not react at all.

Does stainless steel tarnish?

No. It does not oxidize, it does not go dull sitting in a humid bathroom, and it does not react with chlorine, salt water, sweat, or sunscreen. That is the entire reason we use it for the pieces meant to be worn rather than saved.

What jewelry can you wear in the shower and the pool?

These are all stainless steel. Shower in them, swim in them, sleep in them, do the dishes in them.

• Petal Studs, $29.99. A small cubic zirconia bloom sitting flat against the lobe. Gold or silver. The one you wear under a helmet or on a plane and forget entirely.
• Dainty Hoop Earrings, $29.99. A rounded five petal flower on a small hoop. The safer pick for a first pair.
• Fleur Hoop Earrings, $29.99. The same idea with pointed petals, so they catch light in sharper flashes.
• Petal Hoop Earring, $28.99. A 14mm hoop with a 9mm flower hanging from it, in Pink, Purple, or Crystal White.
• Petal Bracelet, $28.99. One 9mm flower on a fine chain, adjustable from 6.3 to 7.5 inches.
• Wildflower Daisy Chain Bracelet, $28.99. Five small daisies spaced along an open chain. Layers under a watch without competing.
• Wild Bloom Bracelet, $39.99. Clover flowers set end to end all the way around, so it reads as one continuous line of stones.
• Everflight Butterfly Necklace, $28.99. A faceted crystal butterfly on a stainless chain, in five colors, adjustable from 17.7 to 19.7 inches.

Why stainless steel instead of silver?

Because you can stop thinking about it. A bracelet takes more knocks and more water than anything except a ring, so for an everyday piece stainless is the practical choice rather than the fancy one. Sterling silver wants storing in a pouch and polishing now and then. Stainless wants nothing.

Can you sleep in huggie earrings?

Most people can, and plenty do. A huggie is a small hoop sized to sit against the lobe instead of hanging below it, usually twelve millimeters or under. It sits flat with no post out the back and nothing dangling, so there is very little to press into a pillow or catch on a sheet, and a hinged closure means no butterfly back working loose overnight.

• Sundial Huggies, $44.99. The plain one. A polished hoop, 11.5mm across, nothing set into it.
• Sundust Pavé Huggies, $50.00. Set all the way around with 5A cubic zirconia, 11.8mm across.

Both are built on 925 sterling silver and plated in 18K gold or rhodium, so they belong in the sleep in group rather than the swim in group. If a piercing is still healing, follow your piercer's advice rather than ours.

What about sterling silver and plated gold?

These are the take it off for water pieces. Not delicate, just worth five seconds of thought.

• Sol Drop Necklace, $49.99. A single 6mm cubic zirconia in a prong setting on 925 sterling silver, so light gets underneath the stone as well as on top. Adjustable from 15.7 to 17.7 inches.
• Dune Necklace, $60.00. A small cluster on a 1.2mm O link chain, built to be the top layer.
• Meadow Ring, $38.99. A single knot on a 1mm band. Sizes 5 through 8.
• Canyon Marquise Ring, $60.00. A row of marquise cut stones, each pointed at both ends like a petal, so the row reads as one continuous line of sparkle.

The rule for all four: on after you are dressed, off before swimming, cleaning, or lotion.

How long does gold plating last?

It depends on thickness, which is measured in microns. Standard fashion jewelry is plated at around 0.05 microns. Both rings above are plated at 0.5, which is ten times that, and it matters most on a ring because a ring takes more abuse than any other piece you own.

It is still plating rather than solid gold, so it will eventually show wear. Treated normally it stays looking new for years rather than months.

Which pieces need the most care?

Three, and we would rather be straight about it than let you find out.

• Ember Butterfly Necklace, $24.99. A copper chain, which is what gives it the warm color. Copper reacts with moisture and skin over time, so take it off before you shower or work out and store it somewhere dry rather than a bathroom. If you want a butterfly you never think about, the Everflight above is the stainless version.
• Solara Bracelet, $54.99. Genuine freshwater pearls, 2.5 to 3mm, spaced along a fine chain. Pearls sit around 2.5 to 4.5 on the hardness scale, softer than glass, and they are organic rather than mineral. Last on, first off. No soaking, no jewelry dip.
• Sundown Chain Bracelet, $34.99. A plain chain on a brass base, plated in 18K gold or rhodium, and nickel free, which matters because nickel is the metal most people react to.

Will brass jewelry turn your wrist green?

Not while the plating is intact. Green marks come from bare brass reacting with moisture and the acidity of your skin, and there is a layer of gold or rhodium sitting between the brass and you. Keep it dry and it stays put. If the plating eventually wears through at a high friction spot, that spot can react, and that is true of every plated brass piece at any price.

So what is the simple rule?

Three tiers. Stainless steel you can forget about completely. Sterling silver and plated gold come off for water, cleaning, and lotion. Copper, brass, and pearl stay dry and get stored somewhere that is not the bathroom.

If you only want to own one kind, buy the stainless. If you want the nicer stone, buy the sterling and give it the five seconds.

Where can you shop everyday jewelry?

Everything above ships nationwide from our shop in downtown Moab, Utah. Browse Desert Sol Jewelry or the whole Desert Sol Collection, which is everything we designed ourselves.

Prices listed are current as of publication and may change. Colors, sizes, and finishes are limited to what is in stock.