The Two Pieces I Reach For Without Thinking

On the gold-tone set that goes together without looking like a matched set — the necklace that makes a statement, the earrings that let it, and a twisted black cord that ties them both to whatever I already own.

By Nancy Parker · Franklin, Tennessee

Posted October 2026 · 6 min read

I am 62 years old, and I had quietly given up on jewelry sets — the kind that come in a box, identical from earring to pendant, and somehow manage to look dated and overdone all at once. I kept buying them separately, getting it wrong, and finally just leaving things in the drawer.

It wore on me more than I let on. I had started to feel a little invisible in my own clothes.

Then a woman in my church group here in Franklin kept turning up looking comfortable and quietly put-together at the same time. I finally asked her. She laughed and told me to read the Monica Secrets letter first.

Monica Secrets is a small, family-run jewelry house — three generations, from a grandfather who cut diamonds to the family who runs it now. The jewelry set is called the Opal Geometry Set, and their letter walks through the handful of things they refused to compromise on. I am going to let their words carry it, because they say it better than I could.

1Gold-tone that keeps its color — no marks, no fading

We plate the Opal Geometry Set in a warm gold tone and finish it to keep its color through daily wear — no tarnishing, no green ring at the collar, no fading where the pendant swings. The black cord is color-fast too, so the two tones stay exactly as they arrived. Wear it every day and it looks the same at the end of the week as it did on Monday morning.

2Exactly the size you're picturing — not smaller in the box

The pendant is a genuine statement piece: 50–55 mm tall, with real visual weight and layered depth. The earrings are a considered 25 mm — present enough to register, quiet enough not to compete. Both sizes are honest to what you see in the photos. We know the most common disappointment with online jewelry is opening the box to find something thinner and cheaper than expected, so the photos show the pieces worn at true scale on a real neckline. What you see is what arrives — a large pendant that actually reads across the room, and earrings that hold their own beside it without shouting.

3Made to go together — not to match exactly

The necklace and earrings share one motif — the oval and the black stone — but they are deliberately different in scale and finish. The pendant has a matte-black outer ring that the earrings do not; the earrings are clean, simple gold-tone ovals. They read as a set because of the shared geometry and stone, but they do not look like a department-store gift set, because they are not identical. One piece is bold. The other holds space. That is exactly the difference between a set that looks collected and one that looks packaged.

4One speaks, the other supports — never too much at once

The pendant is the statement — layered, sculptural, with that outer black ring that gives it real edge. The earrings are the quiet ones: a smooth gold-tone oval with a single black stone, nothing else. Women who wear sets well always do this — one piece leads, the other follows. We built that relationship into the design from the start, so you never have to choose between them or worry that two bold pieces are fighting each other. Put them both on and the look is already resolved.

5Each piece works on its own — not just as a set

Wear them together on the days you want the full look. On the days you want something quieter, the earrings go with a plain gold chain or nothing at all — two small gold ovals with a dark stone that work as well with a gray cardigan as with a black dress. The necklace alone, on the twisted black cord, is a complete look over a simple white top. A set that can only be worn complete rarely goes on. We built these to earn a place in your everyday rotation, not to sit in a gift box waiting for an occasion.

6Complete in one box — nothing left to figure out

The necklace and earrings arrive together in one gift-ready box, on cord and posts that are already the right length and size. There is no second order to place, no separate earring backs to track down, no wondering whether two pieces from different orders will actually go together. You open one box and everything you need is there, already a set. For a gift, it means you hand it over as it arrived. For yourself, it means you put it on and that is the end of the deciding.

The Opal Geometry Set, against the sets you've been buying

Why they're clearing it now

They priced the Opal Geometry Set at $149.95 when it launched, and it sold at that price all season. But for the Monica Secrets sale, Monica Secrets wanted to give something back to the customers who have kept them going — so every jewelry set is going out at half of what it was.

I ordered mine that evening. It arrived a few days later in a slim gift box with a short printed card from the family — the kind of thing you'd want to keep. I have reached for it more times in the past month than any necklace I've owned in years.

I do not usually write things like this. But I spent a long time avoiding jewelry sets because every one I tried looked dated on me — too matched, too obvious, too much. This one is different in a way I could actually feel when I put it on. The pendant does its job; the earrings hold their space. Nobody looks at you and thinks "gift set." They just ask where you got the necklace. I hope you get yours before it clears.

— Nancy Parker · Franklin, TN

This is a personal account from a Monica Secrets customer. Nancy was not paid to write it. · Monica Secrets · Fine everyday jewelry · A small, family-run jewelry house · Free worldwide shipping · 90-day returns · Lifetime warranty.