A locket necklace is a pendant that opens. Behind the hinged front there is a small compartment, and what goes in it is entirely up to the person wearing it: a photograph, a lock of hair, a folded note, a pinch of something meaningful. It is one of the oldest forms of personal jewellery still worn every day, and it survives because the idea behind it never dates.
What is a locket?
A locket is a hollow pendant with a hinge on one side and a small catch on the other. Open it and you find one or two recesses, usually round or heart-shaped, sized to hold a trimmed photograph behind a thin frame. Older lockets often held woven hair; modern ones are just as likely to hold a printed photo, a pressed flower or a scrap of paper with a few words on it.
What people put inside a locket necklace
Photographs are the obvious answer, and a double locket lets you carry two. Beyond that, the compartment is small enough to make anything you choose feel deliberate: a few grains of sand from a place that mattered, a snippet of ribbon, a note folded down to the size of a fingernail, a lock of a child's hair. Some people leave it empty on purpose and fill it later.
If you are adding a photo, print it slightly larger than the recess, then trim it down using the frame as a template. Matte paper sits flatter than glossy and resists creasing.
Choosing a size and shape
Small lockets, around 15-20mm across, sit neatly at the base of the throat and disappear under a collar. Larger ones, 25mm and up, read as a statement piece and hang better on a longer chain. Round and oval are the classics; heart shapes suit gifts; square and rectangular lockets look more contemporary.
Weight matters more than people expect. A locket is hollow, but a thick one in solid silver still has presence, and a fine chain will feel strained under it. Match the chain to the pendant rather than the other way round.
Which metal should you choose?
Sterling silver is the usual choice: hard-wearing, easy to polish, and it takes engraving cleanly. Gold-toned lockets look warmer against most skin but cost considerably more in solid form. Plated lockets are affordable, though the plating on a hinge wears through faster than on a flat surface, because the hinge is the part your fingers touch every time you open it.
Whatever the metal, check the catch before you buy. A locket that springs open in a coat pocket loses whatever was inside it.
Making a keepsake pendant yourself
A true hinged locket is a technical piece of silversmithing. But the sentiment behind it, carrying something small and personal, is well within reach at home. With silver clay you can make a pendant that holds a fingerprint, a texture taken from a real object, or an inscription on the back, fired into 99.9% fine silver with nothing more than a handheld torch.
The material shrinks by about 8-10% as it fires, so anything you press into the surface tightens up slightly and gains definition. If you would like to try, the silver clay starter kit has the clay, torch, tools, cubic zirconia stones and instructions in one box, and the complete guide to silver clay explains the whole process from soft clay to polished silver.
Caring for a locket
Keep it closed when you are not looking inside, because the hinge is the weak point and repeated opening wears it. Avoid getting water into the compartment, which will curl a photograph within days. A polishing cloth on the outside is enough; do not put a locket with a photo inside into a cleaning solution.
A locket necklace is a quiet piece of jewellery that does a lot of work. Whether you buy one or make a pendant that carries the same idea, the value is in what you decide to keep close.
