Gold Memory Locket
These gold memory locket examples hold keepsakes and photographs close, combining sentimental charm with period craftsmanship.
Understanding Gold Memory Locket Pieces
A gold memory locket is a hinged pendant designed to hold miniature portraits, locks of hair or tiny mementos behind glass. Buyers searching this phrase encounter forms spanning the 19th Century, Edwardian era and 1940.
The current selection includes heart-shaped pieces and round lockets featuring floral and engine-turned detail, alongside a brooch and pendant combination. Origins reach from Georgian designs to mid-century vintage items.
Materials and Construction
Construction relies primarily on 9ct gold and gold back and front configurations, enclosing glass compartments for the interior display. Surface embellishment often incorporates seed pearl accents and detailed engine-turned engraving.
Makers shaped these metals into round and heart profiles, integrating hinged mechanisms and pin fittings to function as both pendants and brooches.
Materials span 9ct gold, gold back and front, seed pearl, and glass across the 19th Century, Edwardian, and 1940 periods.
Distinctions in Quality
Quality separates standard production from finer output through the crispness of engine-turned surface detail and the delicacy of applied floral motifs or seed pearls. The precision of the hinged closure and the clarity of the internal glass also define the standard.
Pieces utilising solid 9ct yellow gold sit apart from gold back and front variants, reflecting different periods of manufacturing economy and structural intention.
Murrle Bennett
The Gold Memory Locket Glossary
- Engine-turned
- A decorative technique involving precise geometric patterns cut into the metal surface by a lathe. This finish appears frequently on 19th-century examples.
- Gold back and front
- A method of construction where the exterior surfaces exposed to view consist of gold, while internal reinforcement utilises base metal. This technique reduced weight and cost.
- Seed pearl
- Very small, natural or saltwater pearls utilised in Victorian and Edwardian jewellery for delicate floral or border decoration. They add subtle texture to the gold surface.
- Locket brooch
- A dual-purpose piece equipped with a pin fitting to wear as a brooch alongside a loop for suspension as a pendant. These items serve multiple dressing functions.
Frequently Asked Questions
What goes inside a gold memory locket?
These vessels traditionally house miniature painted portraits, silhouettes or dried botanical specimens behind glass panels.
Locks of hair woven into intricate patterns also appear frequently in older examples.
How do I wear a locket brooch?
A locket brooch secures to garments using the integrated pin finding on the reverse while offering a hidden loop for chain suspension.
This versatility allows the piece to function equally as a pendant necklace or a traditional chest ornament.
How do I date a gold locket?
Dating relies on material construction, closure types, and surface decoration such as engine-turning or seed pearl setting.
Georgian and Edwardian pieces exhibit distinct stylistic motifs that separate them from later 1940 items.
Are these lockets solid gold?
Construction materials vary between solid 9ct yellow gold and gold back and front manufacturing techniques.
Each listing specifies the exact material composition used in the creation of the piece.