What Kind of Jewelry Is Suitable for the Gym?

First of all, why would you wear jewelry to the gym? 

Easy. Because the cuteness of your outfit is directly proportional to your workout performance. Because the person you look at most in the gym… is you.

Here are your options if you want to wear jewelry at the gym:

• Solid 14k gold (58.3% pure gold):

A top tier choice, but often alloyed with nickel and silver (so not hypoallergenic or immune to tarnishing). The higher price makes this feel a little bit more like a commitment.

• Solid 10k gold (41.7% pure gold):

Has the same pros and cons as 14k gold, just lighter in color, price, and scrap metal value

• Stainless steel:

Totally works, but the color is often darker. It can be harder to find dainty designs in this material since stainless steel is much harder with a much higher melting point than gold or silver. Unfortunately not hypoallergenic either, even surgical steel is alloyed with a small amount of nickel.

Not recommended:

• Any sort of plated jewelry (including 'vermeil'):

Plating is very thin so frequent sweating and rubbing on plated jewelry is not a good idea. (Fun fact: white gold is also plated. It's platinum-plated which is how you make white gold.)

• Solid 24k gold:

Really not a good idea because 24k gold is soft. The chains are also often made thicker and heavier, which doesn't stop it being soft and breakable though. Save this choice for heirloom pieces.

• Brass:

This is the one that will turn your skin green (!) if it gets even a little wet.

Sterling silver (92.5% pure silver), a sleeper hit:

• Significantly higher in precious metal yet lower in price than 14k gold.

• Lighter than gold by nearly 50% so the feel on body is lighter, matters especially for cardio types of exercise where you'd be moving a lot. 

• High durability despite its lighter weight.

• Not alloyed with nickel (= hypoallergenic), better for sensitive skin types

• Tarnishes slightly faster than 14k gold, but easier to bring back since the tarnish is only surface-level

• Brighter white than stainless steel, "finer" jewelry look.

• It's precious but not so precious where you feel you have to marry it 

• The silver color itself is something different if you want a changeup from gold, the distinct sterling silver color pairs really well with clothing colors like pink, grey, white, and black

~note: If you liked this article, we'll be launching a necklace with the engineering requirements for girls who like going to the gym next month! If you want an email to check it out when it goes live, subscribe in the footer. See you soon ~

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