Identifying pendants and necklaces

Suspension loops, bullae, and lockets — things worn at the throat.

The suspension loop makes the pendant — check its wear first, since a genuinely worn loop thins at the top where the cord ran. Roman bullae (hollow lockets), lunulae (crescents), phallic amulets, and coin pendants; medieval reliquary crosses and brooch-pendants; post-medieval lockets and mourning pendants all follow the same logic at the neck.

A pierced coin is a pendant too — the hole's position (above the head to keep the portrait upright) shows deliberate reuse. Composite necklaces rarely survive intact; single elements (spacer plates, clasps, wire links) are the usual evidence, and bead groups deserve their own record.

Photograph the loop and its wear, both faces, and any hinge or opening seam (hollow pendants may hold contents — do not force them). Note metal, dimensions, and iconography, and describe religious imagery precisely; it usually carries the date.

From the guide library inside Collectors Catalogues, a free app for cataloguing antiques and finds with honest, museum-grade records.

More on jewellery

Dating medieval brooches — Form, pin, and section are your clues.

Identifying brooch and fibula types — Spring, bow, and catch.

Identifying finger rings — Hoop, shoulders, and bezel.

Identifying beads — Material, perforation, and wear.

Identifying cameos and intaglios — Carved in relief or sunk.

Identifying earrings — Hoops, pendants, and wires from four thousand years of pierced ears.

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