How to Choose a Gemstone Necklace
Choosing a gemstone necklace is more personal than choosing a gold chain or a diamond piece. The colour you're drawn to says something. The way stones sit together in a layered stack is its own kind of decision-making. It's also — if we're honest — slightly more fun.
Here's how I think about it, and how I'd suggest thinking about it when shopping Sorsa.
Start with Colour, Not Meaning
There are a lot of guides online that tell you to choose a gemstone based on its healing properties or chakra associations. That's one way to approach it. But I'd suggest starting somewhere more instinctive: what colour are you actually drawn to right now?
Colour affects how you feel when you wear something. A vivid chrysoprase green feels energising. Larimar's pale, cloudy blue is immediately calming. A deep ruby red is confident and deliberate. Moonstone is dreamy and a little unpredictable. None of that requires a belief in crystal healing — it's just how colour works on the eye and the mood.
So before anything else: which colours do you reach for? Which ones do you avoid? Start there.
Think About Your Wardrobe
Gemstone jewellery lives with your clothes, so it helps to think about the two together.
If you wear a lot of neutrals — cream, white, camel, grey, navy — almost any coloured stone will work. The colour in the jewellery becomes the point of the outfit.
If you already wear a lot of colour, you have two options: go tonal (a green necklace against a green outfit reads as intentional and considered) or go contrast (a vivid orange spinel against deep navy is a combination that really works).
Warm skin tones tend to look beautiful with warm stones — ruby, carnelian, topaz, peridot, Ethiopian opal. Cooler skin tones often suit aquamarine, larimar, blue sapphire, moonstone, and the cooler greens like amazonite and chrysoprase. But these are guidelines, not rules. Wear what you love.
Single Stone or Mixed?
Both are valid but they do different things.
A single-stone necklace is cleaner and more directional. It's a considered choice — one stone, worn because you love it specifically. Our longer single-strand pieces in one stone have a simplicity that works well for everyday wear and for layering as a base.
A mixed-stone necklace — our rainbow and watercolour pieces — is about movement, colour flow, and the pleasure of stones that work together. No two are ever the same because the stones are individually selected and hand-knotted. If you want something that feels alive and shifts with the light, this is the direction.
How to Layer
Layering is something I think about a lot, and there's a loose formula that tends to work.
Start with a Sorsa rainbow or watercolour piece as your base — it sets the colour story. Then add a single faceted strand in a complementary tone for texture. Gold comes last: a fine chain, a lariat, or a pendant. The contrast between the softness of the knotted gemstones and the hardness of the gold is what makes the combination feel finished.
In terms of length: keep the shortest piece closest to the collar and let each subsequent layer sit a little lower. Three lengths is a sweet spot, but you can always add more or less to suit your mood.
Birthstones Are a Good Starting Point, Not a Ceiling
Birthstone jewellery is one of the most searched gift categories for a reason — it's personal and it has a clear logic. But don't treat it as the only option. If you were born in July and love the idea of a ruby, wonderful. If you were born in November but you're obsessed with larimar, wear the larimar.
The stones we work with most at Sorsa — ruby, sapphire, chrysoprase, aquamarine, moonstone, opal, larimar, tourmaline, emerald — are all worth wearing regardless of birth month. Buy what you're drawn to.
Caring for Your Necklace
All Sorsa necklaces are hand-knotted on silk thread. The silk is both beautiful and practical — it cushions the stones and means that if the thread ever breaks, beads stay in place rather than scattering. Over time and with regular wear, silk can show wear. We recommend restringing every few years, depending on how often you wear it.
Remove your necklace before swimming, showering, or applying perfume directly to the skin. Store it flat or hanging — not bundled with other pieces. Wipe stones with a soft, dry cloth. Avoid ultrasonic cleaners, especially for softer stones like opal, fluorite and larimar.
If You're Still Not Sure
Buy the one you can't stop looking at. That's always the right answer.