★★★★★ 4.6 (350+ reviews)
- Plain, unadorned pure copper — no charms, no beads, nothing to jingle or snag on a hem
- Solid 99.9% copper with real weight to it, so it sits where you put it instead of riding up
- No nickel, the metal behind most jewellery rashes, and no plating to wear through
- Open-backed and adjustable — one size, no clasp, on with one hand and no bending double
An ankle is the hardest test jewellery gets
Think about what it puts up with. Sun cream every morning. Sea salt and sand. A sock and a shoe for eight hours. Sweat, in the one place you can't feel it happening. Nothing you own gets a rougher run than something worn on the ankle — which is why holiday anklets go black, go green, or go in the bin by September.
Plated jewellery fails fastest exactly there, and when the thin coating gives way, what your skin meets is the base metal underneath — usually one containing nickel, the most common contact allergen in jewellery there is. Trace has no coating to fail. It is 99.9% pure copper, one solid metal through and through, with no nickel in it at all. There is no second layer, so there is no second layer to lose.
- No nickel — nothing hiding under a surface for warm weather to draw out
- No plating, so no patchy dark spots where a shoe has rubbed it
- No fiddly clasp to fasten behind your own ankle, bent over on the edge of the bed
One size · open-backed and adjustable to your own ankle. 99.9% pure copper, plain and unadorned.
Why most anklets don't last a summer
THE HOLIDAY ONE
The one bought from a stall on the beach
Lovely for a fortnight. It's thread or thin plated wire, and between the sea, the sun cream and the shower it's grey and frayed before the tan has gone. It was never meant to come home with you.
THE TINY CLASP
A chain anklet with a lobster catch
You have to fasten it behind your own ankle, bent over, looking at it upside down. It is a genuinely awkward manoeuvre at any age and an unreasonable one if your hands or your back aren't what they were.
THE WRITE-OFF
Deciding anklets just aren't worth it
Which is fair enough if every one you've owned turned your ankle black or fell off in the sea. The problem was the construction, though — a thin coating on a cheap base — not the idea.
Plated high-street jewellery vs solid copper
More than one? The discount comes off by itself
Trace is £22.99 at the moment instead of £45.98 — exactly half. Our quantity discount is live and it stacks on top of that sale price, applied automatically at the checkout. Nothing to type in.
2 pieces — 10% off
Comes off the basket automatically, on top of the half-price sale.
3 pieces — 15% off
Any three from the copper collection — an anklet and two bracelets counts. 15% off the whole order.
4 pieces — 20% off
The biggest tier. Four pieces at a fifth off, still stacked on the current sale prices.
How Trace is made
Nothing added
No charms, no beads, no engraving. Just the line of the metal, which is the hardest kind of piece to get right — there's no pattern to hide behind, so the shape and the finish have to carry it on their own.
Weight you can feel
Solid copper rather than hollow or plated wire, so it has a little heft to it. That's what keeps an anklet sitting properly above the bone instead of sliding down onto your foot all day.
Open back, one movement
The band is open at the back and gently springy. It goes on with one hand, from a sitting position, with no catch to find — and it can be eased a little wider or closer and will hold that shape.
99.9% pure copper · plain, unadorned band · one size, open-backed and adjustable · no nickel, no plating
Common questions
Will it leave a green mark on my ankle?
It can, and on an ankle in summer it's more likely than on a wrist — so it's worth knowing before you buy. Copper reacts with the natural acids in your skin, and that reaction leaves a faint green tint. It is harmless, it's a mark rather than a rash, and it washes off with soap and water in seconds. Sun cream and heat both make it more likely. A thin coat of clear lacquer painted on the inside of the band reduces it a great deal, and takes a minute to redo now and then.
Will it stay on? I don't want to lose it.
It's an open band rather than a chain, so there's no clasp to come undone — which is how most anklets get lost. Ease it to sit snugly just above the ankle bone and it stays there. It's firm enough not to slip down and soft enough to adjust with your fingers.
Can I wear it in the sea or the pool?
We'd take it off. Salt water and chlorine both darken copper quickly and make the green tint more likely, and sun cream does it no favours either. Being open-backed it comes off in a second, which is rather the point — you're not wrestling with a clasp on a beach.
Can I wear it under socks and trousers in winter?
Plenty of people do. It's plain and slim, with nothing sticking out to catch on a sock or a hem, so it disappears under clothes completely. It will darken a little faster against a sock than against bare skin — a quick polish sorts that out.
What size should I order?
One size — there's only the one. It's open at the back and adjustable, so it fits most ankles as it comes and a gentle squeeze or ease with your fingers does the rest. Nothing to measure and nothing to get wrong.
Can I return it if it's not right?
Yes — 30 days to send it back. UK delivery is free and the checkout is secure.
What customers are saying
Illustrative examples of the feedback we get on this piece, not verbatim reviews.
★★★★★
Hilary G., 56
"I'd given up on anklets after the last one turned my ankle black and then fell off in the sea. This one has no clasp at all, which solves both problems in one go. Plain and lovely."
★★★★★
Janet O., 65
"Heavier than the flimsy chain ones and that's exactly why I like it — it sits above the ankle bone and stays put rather than working its way down to my foot."
Free UK delivery · 30-day returns · Secure checkout
Currently half price · 2 pieces 10% off, 3 for 15%, 4 for 20% — applied automatically
Evely Rose Boutique · Product details reflect the current listing.
