Victorian Edwardian Locket
A victorian edwardian locket brings together hinged metalwork and personal mementoes from the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
Victorian Edwardian Locket
A victorian edwardian locket encompasses hinged pendants, brooches, and charms designed to hold photographs, hair work, or small keepsakes close to the wearer. The versions met on this page span the 19th Century, Victorian, Edwardian, and later periods up to the mid 20th Century.
Forms range from simple round and oval lockets to heart shaped designs, padlock pendants, and elaborate glass top shaker styles. Many pieces originate from British and French workshops, encompassing regional variations such as Scottish agate mounts.
Constructed primarily as wearable keepsakes, these items often double as pendants, necklaces, or brooch attachments. The selection reflects a rich lineage of ornamental metalwork paired with intimate utility.
Materials and construction
Metals span sterling silver, rolled gold, 9ct, 14ct, 15ct, and high carat 18ct yellow and rose gold, often supplemented by gold back and front construction. Artisans combined these metals with glass panels, enamel work, and tortoiseshell frames.
Surface decoration relies on hand engraving, filigree wirework, and repoussé techniques to depict floral baskets, swallows, and geometric patterns. Gemstones including amethyst, turquoise, seed pearls, diamonds, sapphires, rubies, and garnets are flush set or mounted in collets.
Internal components feature hinged bezels, miniature photograph frames, and glass compartments designed for hair work and portrait miniatures. Screw closures and snap fastenings secure the contents safely inside.
Victorian Edwardian Locket Retail Price Guide 2026
Typical asking prices for victorian edwardian locket among the pieces listed under this phrase on Sellingantiques today, from the lower quarter to the upper quarter. They describe what is for sale here now, not the wider market.
Listings feature periods spanning from the Victorian era through the Edwardian epoch and into the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s.
Evaluating the standard
Quality rests upon the weight and purity of the gold or silver chassis, alongside the crispness of hand engraving and filigree work. Heavier gauges of metal and intact internal frames distinguish finer pieces from lighter production.
The choice of gemstones and the precision of their cuts dictate the upper tier of the range, particularly when paired with natural pearls, well matched diamonds, or polychrome enamel. Intricate artisan assembly, such as secure hinge movement and tightly sealed glass fronts, marks superior construction.
The Victorian Edwardian Locket Glossary
- Gold Back and Front
- A method of construction where the exterior surfaces exposed to view are solid gold, while the interior plates and hinge mechanisms utilise base metal for structural strength.
- Shaker Locket
- A glazed compartment pendant enclosing loose elements such as seed pearls or tiny gems that move freely behind the glass face.
- Hair Work
- Human hair arranged intricately inside a glazed locket compartment to serve as a sentimental memorial memento.
- Paste
- Hand cut glass or lead crystal used to imitate gemstones, frequently seen in antique heart pendants and paste clusters.
- Pietra Dura
- Hardstone inlay technique forming pictorial mosaics of flowers or birds using finely fitted coloured stones set into a dark stone ground.
Victorian Edwardian Locket: Frequently Asked Questions
What fits inside a locket?
These pieces typically house small paper photographs, dried floral mementoes, or intricate arrangements of human hair. The internal space varies depending on whether the design uses a single shallow bezel or double photograph frames.
Many styles incorporate glass panels on one or both sides to display the contents visibly, while solid metal covers keep keepsakes hidden behind hinged doors.
How do you open an antique locket?
Most hinged examples rely on a fingernail nick or a small side catch that releases the spring or snap closure. Care must be taken not to force stuck latches where age has compressed the metal lips.
Screw top designs require unscrewing the glazed bezel ring gently from the outer frame to access the internal chamber.
Are these pieces solid gold?
The materials vary significantly across different items, ranging from sterling silver and rolled gold to 9ct, 15ct, and 18ct yellow or rose gold. Some listings explicitly note gold back and front construction, meaning solid gold exterior plates over a supportive base metal core.
Hallmarks and metal tests help determine the exact composition of each individual piece.
How should you wear them?
Pendant versions hang from chains around the neck, while padlock styles attach easily to charm bracelets or heavy chatelaines. Brooch and locket combinations offer the versatility of pinning to garments while retaining a secret internal compartment.
Gentle daily wear preserves the delicate hinges, glass panels, and fine hand engravings.