Royal RepliKate Jewelry: Our Picks and a First-Hand Review

A few years ago, for a big birthday, I was given a pair of Kiki McDonough Classic Pear Drop Earrings in smoky quartz—the exact pair Kate has in Citrine. Though I try to play it cool about my Kate fandom, I could hardly contain myself when I saw the big blue box and realized what was inside. I let out a truly tween-like gasp, which pleased my gift-giver to no end.

I love them. They are lightweight, subtly glamorous, and match everything. I wear them whenever I need to look 10% dressier than usual—birthday lunches, dinner parties, social events at my daughter’s school. Their only drawback is that, unlike Kiki’s cushion cut drops, the pear drops aren’t interchangeable. I’d love to have that flexibility, and I’m always entertaining the idea of saving up for some Kiki diamond hoops and, after that, various styles of drops, like these.

This holiday season, I spent hours on Etsy searching for gifts, and I discovered some truly remarkable repliKates on the site. I began to wonder how they compared to the genuine articles. Could I, perhaps, find something that looked as good as my own earrings for a fraction of the cost? I decided to order a bunch of them to find out.

I started at DBaker jewelry, which offers over 50 replicas of Kate’s earrings in different price points. If you want to own a piece that looks exactly like one Kate has, this is your shop. Recklessly ignoring the no-return policy, I bought two pairs. First, the Citrine Crystal Teardrop Earrings.

At $17, these are a steal; and if you just want a piece that looks like what Kate wears, they are fantastic. The pale yellow is a perfect copy, and the lever back hooks make them look higher-end than they are. The quality, however, leaves something to be desired—the metal setting is rough around the crystal and the hooks are very thin. I was more pleased with a fancier pair: The Pink Morganite Halo Teardrops.

Again, DBaker has gotten the color just right—the pink is pale and sophisticated, and the stones sparkle nicely. Unfortunately, they aren’t terribly comfortable; the weight of the stones is too heavy for the very thin post, so they forever feel like they are going to fall off. Though this imbalance does give them the movement and heft of real jewels, I wish I had bought this pair from the Marianna London Etsy shop.

The bottom pieces are exactly the same as DBaker’s, but the top stones are a better to match to Kate’s originals, and I think the symmetrical shape will help them hang better. Plus, I really love the pair I actually bought from this shop: The Green Amethyst Pink Tourmaline Halo Earrings

Though they are a bit too colorful for my everyday style, they hang nicely, are relatively comfortable, and looked perfect with a black dress during the holiday season. She also makes a nice version of the citrine drops on more substantial lever back hooks that look almost exactly like the ones on my genuine Kikis.

Somewhat disappointed by my Etsy finds, but still inspired, I headed over to the holy grail of replikates: Heavenly Necklaces. Kate, herself, put this company on the map when she wore their Pearl and Diamond earrings to the Queen’s Jubilee church service. The Countess of Wessex often wears their designs, as does the new first lady of France. I’ve been eyeing their website for years, and finally took the plunge.

I bought a pair of their Amazing Gold Hoops and Gemstone Ovals in Blue Topaz, and I couldn’t be happier with them. Because Heavenly Necklaces uses real gems, these are much pricier than my Etsy finds: $54 for the hoops and $74 for the drops. But they look and feel even more expensive than that. If you have a nice pair of gold hoops already, you can simply buy one or more pairs of the drops—which can also be worn with any simple studs you already own! This is the pair that really gets my full endorsement.

To be absolutely thorough, I also checked out Amazon’s offerings and was surprised to find a huge selection of Kate-adjacent earrings, meaning colorful gemstone drops. But I was searching for earrings that look almost exactly identical to pieces Kate owns–I wanted to see how close I could get to the real thing. I found them made by a company called Gem Stone King. The Oval Gemstone Birthstone Dangling earrings are, like Heavenly Necklace pieces, made from real gemstones. They are a bit smaller than HN’s, which I like, but the colors are terribly bright. If you check them out, be aware that the color on screen is very accurate! I was not at all in love with the pair I purchased, and quickly returned them—the best benefit of shopping for jewelry on Amazon.

I had a great time satisfying my curiosity; I’ll wear my Etsy find once in a while and my Heavenly Necklace drops often. I have to say, however, that what I really learned from this quest is that Kate’s earrings don’t look exactly fabulous on me. We have different face shapes and entirely different wardrobes. Once again I’ve confirmed that the best way to copy Kate is to use her style for inspiration, not replication. I’ve found most of my personal favorites at Anthropologie, including these–fittingly called the Kate Drops– which always get a second look.