Photo Projection Necklaces

What Is a Necklace with a Picture Inside Called?

Most shoppers search for a photo necklace, and that term covers both formats sold here. A photo locket is the older one: a hinged pendant that opens on a printed picture, sized for one or two photos. A projection pendant is newer — the image is sealed at microscopic scale under a clear domed lens, invisible until you hold it toward light and look through it.

A third route etches the picture onto the surface of a pendant, where anyone can see it. Rings, bracelets, and engraved formats sit in the wider photo jewelry collection; if you already know you want a pendant that opens, the photo locket necklaces page gathers those on their own.

Projection Pendant or Photo Locket: Which One Suits the Wearer

The choice is less about looks than about how the wearer wants to reach the photo. A locket suits someone who wants to open it and look — at a desk, in a waiting room, at the end of a long day. A projection pendant suits someone who likes that nobody else knows the photo is there; it reads as a plain pendant until it is held up to a window or a lamp.

The second question is whether the picture will ever need to change. With either format, choose a photo you will still want in ten years: in a locket the print is fitted in our workshop when the piece is made, and in a projection pendant the image is sealed under the lens — which is why both suit a memorial piece, and why a growing child's photo deserves a moment's thought.

The Trade-Offs Each Format Asks You to Accept

What a projection pendant costs you. It needs light: in a dim restaurant or a car at night there is nothing to see, and a first-time wearer has to be shown how to hold it. The image lives entirely in the lens, and a deep scratch across that dome cannot be polished out the way a scuff on flat metal can. And the file you upload is the file that stays.

What a locket costs you. A hinge and a catch are moving parts, and moving parts are what eventually gives on jewelry worn daily; a catch opened a few thousand times sits looser than it did new. The print inside is paper behind a cover, not sealed glass, so hot showers and swimming are bad for it. The hollow case also needs depth, so a locket sits thicker against the skin than a projection pendant of the same width.

Put plainly: take the locket if the wearer wants to open it and look at the photo often. Take projection if the memory should stay private or if the piece will be worn daily under clothing. In both, the photo is fitted when the piece is made.

What These Necklaces Are Made Of, and How to Care for Them

Designs here are available in 925 sterling silver as well as stainless steel and other metals, including copper- and brass-based pieces, some finished in a gold or rose tone over the base metal. Those metals differ in behavior rather than rank: stainless steel is the least demanding, sterling silver is softer and warmer in color but darkens over time, and a toned finish sits on the surface and thins where the pendant rubs. The exact material for each design is listed on its product page.

Care takes seconds. Wipe the pendant dry after wear, keep perfume and chlorine off it, and store it in a pouch. Dulled sterling silver comes back with a polishing cloth, but never use abrasive paste on a projection lens — it clouds the surface the image is read through. Keep the inside of a locket dry.

Shape, Chain, and Birthstone Choices

Hearts are the most-gifted shape here, followed by round discs, oval lockets, and a deer antler design for anyone wanting something less obviously romantic. Shape matters: a round or oval pendant gives a portrait room, while a heart crops tightly and works best with a single face near the middle.

Some heart designs add a birthstone setting, so one pendant carries her photo and her birth month; other stones are collected in birthstone jewelry. Chain length is chosen on the product page — a shorter chain sits above a neckline where the pendant is seen, a longer one drops it under clothing.

Who These Necklaces Are Bought For

Most orders here are gifts for a mom, wife, or girlfriend, timed to a birthday, an anniversary, Mother's Day, or the weeks after a baby arrives. A quieter share are memorial pieces holding the photo of someone who has died — where projection earns its keep: the pendant looks ordinary, and the photo appears only when its wearer chooses to look.

The same idea worn on the wrist is in the photo projection bracelets collection, and engraved names, dates, and coordinates without a photo are in personalized necklaces.

Getting a Sharp, Clear Image

The photo you send matters more than the price of the pendant. Use a sharp, well-lit picture with one or two faces filling the frame, skip heavy filters, and upload the original file rather than a screenshot or a copy forwarded through several apps — each step throws away detail the lens cannot invent back. Contrast helps more than resolution.

You upload the file on the product page and drag it into position, so you see how the crop sits inside the pendant's opening before adding the piece to your cart. Every photo we receive is then checked by a person, and we come back to you if the file is too soft or dark to hold up at that size. When the finished pendant arrives, hold the lens close to one eye and face a window or lamp; a phone flashlight behind the stone works too, and a phone camera pointed at the flat side shows the image on screen.

Common Questions

What is the difference between a projection necklace and a photo locket?

A locket opens on a printed picture you can look at any time. A projection pendant holds the photo in a sealed lens, invisible until you hold it toward light. A locket opens so you can look at the print whenever you like; in both formats the photo is fitted when the piece is made.

Can I change the photo later?

No. In a locket the printed photo is fitted in our workshop when the piece is made, and in a projection pendant the image is sealed under the lens as the piece is made — so choose a picture you will still want in ten years.

What are these necklaces made of?

The collection includes 925 sterling silver alongside stainless steel, copper, brass, and other metals, some with a gold or rose tone finish. If a specific metal matters, email cs@ifshe.com with the item number before you order and we'll confirm what that piece is made of.

How much is shipping and how long does delivery take?

Standard shipping is CA$9.95 and free on orders over CA$139. Delivery runs 7–12 business days once the parcel leaves our studio, tracked the whole way, with an email carrying the tracking number at dispatch; several items ordered together ship as one parcel. Import duties and taxes are covered by us, so there is nothing to pay on delivery. Full terms are on the delivery and shipping page.

Can I return a personalized necklace?

You have 60 days from the day you receive an order to raise a return or exchange. If the fault is ours — wrong item, damage in transit, or an engraving that does not match what you ordered — we replace it or refund you in full, with no postage fees, restocking fees, or hidden charges. Because a piece made with your own photo cannot be resold, all sales are final on custom orders: check the spelling and the photo before you order. See the return and exchange page.