Wedding Guest Jewelry: Tennis Bracelets, Drops and Sets

The brief for a guest is narrow. Polished enough for the photographs, comfortable enough to dance in, and not so loud that it pulls focus from the bride. Twenty-eight pieces meet it: ten bracelets, ten necklace-and-earring sets, five pairs of earrings, two necklaces and one ring, from $44.99.

Tennis bracelets are the backbone, seven of them, four in .925 sterling silver and three in brass under rhodium plate. Cubic zirconia does most of the sparkling and is called cubic zirconia, never a diamond. Color runs through the rest: turquoise in three pieces, synthetic tanzanite in two, and green, blue and gold stones across the bib and collar sets. Imitation pearl appears on four, including a clip-on pair for unpierced ears.

A practical way to shop this is to pick one loud thing and keep the rest quiet. If the dress is plain, a bib or collar set does the work on its own. If the dress is patterned, a tennis bracelet and a pair of pavé studs is enough. For a season with more than one wedding in it, the sets are the efficient buy, since the necklace and earrings already agree with each other.