Antique & Vintage Lockets
A locket is a pendant with a secret: it opens. Inside its hinged case, generations have kept portraits, photographs, locks of hair, and small keepsakes carried close to the heart. The form is older than the name — medieval reliquary pendants held sacred fragments, Georgian lockets held painted miniatures and woven hair under glass, and by the Victorian era the locket had become the most personal jewel a person could own, given for betrothals, births, and remembrance.
The Victorians made the locket an art form. Yellow gold cases were engraved with flowers, birds, and scrollwork; the swallow — a bird that returns home across any distance — became a beloved motif for lovers separated by sea voyages. The Aesthetic movement of the 1880s brought a different beauty: sterling silver lockets engraved with herons, butterflies, and blossoms in the Japanese-influenced style collectors call japonisme, worked in fine lines across the whole surface of the piece. Edwardian lockets turned lighter and more refined — smaller rounds in 9-carat gold, delicate monograms engraved on the front, and frames inside sized for the small photographs that had become everyday keepsakes.
When you are choosing an antique locket, look first at the hinge and the closure: both should work smoothly, and the case should close with a clean, even fit. Turn the piece over — British lockets carry hallmarks that record the metal, the assay office, and often the year, and 9-carat gold (marked 375) was the sturdy standard for English jewels meant to be worn daily. Engraving should be hand-cut and crisp, not soft or blurred. Inside, the original photo frames and covers are part of the piece's story and part of its value.
Every locket at Royal Regency is researched and checked before it is listed — hallmarks read, hinges tested, engraving photographed in detail — so you can see the piece exactly as it is. Worn on a chain or collected as the small works of art they are, these are jewels that were made to hold what mattered most.
Frequently asked questions
How do I put a photograph in an antique locket? Use the locket's inner frame as your guide: lay it over your photograph, trace the outline, and trim just inside the line so the picture tucks under the frame's edge. Photocopies or prints on ordinary paper work best, and never trim an original antique photograph.
What does 9ct or 375 mean on a locket? It is the British hallmark for 9-carat gold — 37.5% pure gold, alloyed for strength. The full set of marks beside it can identify the assay office (such as Birmingham or Chester) and the year the piece was tested.
Does an antique locket come with a chain? Some of our lockets are listed with a chain and some as the pendant alone, and the listing always states which. Where no chain is included, any fine chain of a matching tone completes the piece.
Can an antique locket be worn every day? Yes, with the care any century-old jewel deserves: put it on last, keep it from perfumes and water where you can, and store it closed so the interior stays protected.
