Pendants for Your Necklace in Silver and Gold

A pendant is what makes a necklace personal. The same chain takes on a completely different character with a different pendant on it, and you can swap whenever you want.

The right chain to go with it

Choose a link that is not too wide, so the pendant sets the tone rather than the chain. A narrower king's link, box or rope works best for this. Also check that the bail of the pendant fits over the link: with a wide Cuban link that is often not the case.

Length determines where it sits

At 50 cm (20in) the pendant sits just below your collarbone, at 55 to 60 cm (22 to 24in) in the middle of your chest, and from 65 cm (26in) it falls over a shirt or hoodie. Add the full height of the pendant on top of that: a 4 cm (1.6in) pendant drops the chain 4 cm further, while 4 cm of extra chain only gains you 2 cm. Our guide explains how a pendant counts toward chain length. If you wear several chains, keep at least 10 cm of length between them, which leaves 5 cm of space between the pendants.

Material

Silver-colored stainless steel is bare, polished steel: no coating that can wear through and no tarnish, so those pendants can stay on in the shower. The gold-colored steel pendants and the stone-set models on nickel-free copper alloy carry a five-layer PVD finish. It is harder than ordinary plating, but still a coating: take those off before the shower and the gym. Take every pendant off before swimming. 925 sterling silver is a real precious metal, with more weight and a deeper shine. Looking for something with an engraving? See the engravable jewelry or the signet rings.