How to choose a locket

A locket is a small object with a job. Before the shape or the metal, decide who it is for and what they already wear. A person who lives in silver will feel a yellow-gold finish as a statement. Someone who wears warm metals every day may barely notice rose gold, which is often the point.

Think about the neckline they actually wear. A locket on a short chain sits well with an open collar. On a high neck it disappears, or it fights the clothes.

Some lockets are for a photograph. Some are for a few words engraved inside, with the outside left plain. Some are asked to do both. If a photograph is the reason for the gift, give it room: an oval or a larger heart is kinder to a face than a tiny frame.

If the words matter more than a picture, a smaller heart is enough, and it is easier to wear every day. Leave one side empty when you are not sure. They can add a photograph later.

Most heart lockets are worn at the collarbone. A 16 inch chain sits high. An 18 inch chain is the usual everyday length. A 20 inch chain drops toward the chest and suits a lower neckline, or someone who wants to tuck the locket under a shirt.

The pendant should lie flat. If it twists or stands away from the skin, the chain is too short, the bail is wrong, or the locket is heavier than the chain can manage.

An everyday locket should be small enough to forget, with a smooth edge and a hinge that closes fully. A locket for a wedding, a christening, or a photograph you want people to see can be larger. Larger also means more careful storage: the face and the hinge take the knocks.

If you are choosing for someone else and you cannot ask, pick the simpler heart, an 18 inch chain, and engraving rather than a photograph you might get wrong.