Real stories · The earrings that do the dressing-up for me

The little spiral earrings that catch the light every time I move — and weigh nothing at all

A pair of earrings with a bit of sparkle and life to them, light enough to wear from breakfast to bedtime without my ears aching — that's what I'd quietly given up finding. I'm 67, and my jewellery box tells a sad story: the heavy statement earrings from years ago that pull on my ears within the hour, and the tiny gold studs I default to instead, which might as well not be there. So for dinners and do's I'd wear the studs, feel a bit unfinished, and leave it at that.

What I wanted was one pair that did the dressing-up for me — noticeable, a bit special, but so comfortable I could forget them.

Then I found the Evelina from a British label called York Boutique — asymmetric spiral drop earrings, a little golden hoop with a cascade of tiny crystals spiralling down.

They've quietly become the only earrings I reach for. The clever bit is the spiral: the crystals wind round as they drop, which is why they catch the light every single time I move my head — there's always a facet turned the right way. They twinkle when I talk, when I laugh, when I look over my shoulder. And they weigh next to nothing, so my ears don't ache at the end of a long evening the way they always did with my old heavy pair. With grey hair, honestly, a bit of sparkle at the ear does more than a necklace ever did.

They're so light I forget they're in, and yet every time I turn my head they catch the light. Three people at the dinner noticed them before they noticed my dress.

I wore them to a retirement dinner and three people commented on them before anyone said a word about my dress. My friend Sylvia turned my head sideways with both hands to have a proper look, which at our age is the highest compliment there is. I'd checked before ordering that I could send them back if they weren't as pretty as the pictures — you can, within a fortnight, and the delivery's free — so there was nothing lost by trying.

They were £24.95 in the summer sale, half what they usually are, which for the only earrings I now wear feels like very little indeed.

If your jewellery box is all heavy statement pieces you can't bear and tiny studs nobody sees, do treat yourself to a look. The Evelina is rated 4.6 out of 5 by more than 200 women, it's £24.95 in the summer sale instead of £50, and they always seem to go quickly when the sale is on.