Locket necklace is a piece of jewelry that came to us from ancient times, but it hasn’t lost its relevance even now. This entertaining jewelry adorned almost every girl’s neck. I had such necklace as well. And what about you? Today I want to talk about the history of this accessory, about modern variations, that the fashion industry offers, and of course, I’ll tell you how to wear a locket necklace correctly.
In this post you will find
Historical procession of the locket necklace
Locket necklace has come to us from ancient Rome, where it was an originally reward for the victors-generals. It was similar to a large gold coin, that has represented as an ornate disk. Then the classical form of the locket was born – it was a round one. Today locket necklaces can be seen as a form of the watch “filing”.
Among the priests locket necklace has been spread as a special ritual amulet. It could have some drawings of magical symbols or images of gods. Modern lockets are suspended on a chain or cord and have decorations with precious stones or drawings. Some models can be opened to put there a small portrait or relic.
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In ancient Egypt everyone loved locket necklace, especially in a high esteem it was for Cleopatra. Cleopatra frequently gifted it to her servants as a pendant with emerald and her portrait. The fact that Cleopatra’s servants worn around their necks her image, carefully hidden behind the closed-door of the locket, gave birth to the traditional form of this jewelry. Veritable locket necklace carries the sacred function of storing the most precious and dearest for its owner. Also Pharaoh Tutankhamen wore a locket necklace in a form of the sacred scarab beetle.
”Queen Elizabeth I of England wore her locket ring daily; it contained a painted portrait of her mother, Anne Boleyn, and herself. She often gifted those in her inner circle with a jeweled locket containing her portrait”.
And as the piece of jewelry locket necklace or medallion appeared during Renaissance times. Click To TweetBecause it has awaken an interest in antiquity. Unfortunately, a precise data on the occurrence of this jewelry we don’t have. Reported facts of locket necklace wearing in England belong to the XVII century. The peak of the popularity of an unusual pendant can be considered XVIII-XIX century – the time of the Victorian era (or the period of romanticism and neostyle). Then people began to use locket necklace as a “storage” for a memory of war victims, relatives and loved ones.
”Very rare World War I- and World War II-era British and American military uniform locket buttons exist, containing miniature working compasses”.
The name of this jewelry came in the modern language from French, rooted in Latin and Ancient Greek. As you can see, being born during the reign of the Roman Empire, locket necklace rooted only due to the exquisite taste of the French people. I think – there is no wonder why.
Unusual vision of the locket necklace
Widespread in the Victorian era were also rotating lockets. The hinge that allows jewelry fastened to a chain, wasn’t fastened to the locket itself, allowing it to rotate freely. These locket necklaces were called magical, and so they costed more than all the other options.
In Europe, jewelers decorated locket necklace with miniatures and fashionistas worn it around the neck on a velvet ribbon.
Locket necklace that hold a lock of hair especially had a glass front part. So that you can see the relic, without opening the suspension. Due to this you can avoid the risk of losing valuable contents of the locket necklace. Honestly, I can’t imagine who will wear this kind of locket necklace now. And what do you think?
Another locket necklace with a “secret” was intended to mask smell of a person. On a small pad inside the locket people dripped perfumes. In the age where personal hygiene was very limited, the scent of perfume was getting a rank of rescuer.
”Around 1860 memento lockets started to replace mourning rings as the preferred style of mourning jewellery”.
This around-the-neck adornment is put on a chain, and because of this people still practice to call it a “pendant”. As it seems to be hung on a chain like a suspension.
In olden times locket necklace could be fastened to a belt, to clothing, to rings or just stay in the pocket. It was both male and female accessory. But even now a lot of designers recreate the locket necklace also as men’s jewelry, and many stylish young people are practicing it in their wardrobes. But would you risk?
What is locket necklace in general?
Most often, locket necklace has round or oval shape, sometimes even rectangular. But lockets have a a significant difference from any suspension. They consist of two parts on the pivotal connection and snap on the little padlock.
Very often, locket necklace can be made in such forms:
- locket – heart;
- locket – droplet;
- “geometric” locket;
- locket with abstraction.
Fashion locket necklaces
How to wear a locket necklace properly?
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