Heart Gold Pendants

It is more susceptible to denting, because a thin shell can be pushed in by a sharp knock where solid metal would resist. In ordinary wear on the chest that rarely arises.

Against that, a hollow form puts far less load on the loop, the chain link and the clasp, which are the places a necklace actually comes apart.

The rim, where the two halves are joined, is the part to inspect over time, and any lifting there is worth showing to a jeweller early.

Sometimes. A shallow dent in a smooth area can occasionally be raised from inside where there is access, or eased out by a jeweller working the metal around it.

A crease that has folded the shell, or a dent running across a soldered joint, is much harder, because the metal has stretched and cannot simply be returned.

Repair of this kind usually involves heat, so any stones or enamel on the piece decide what is possible before anything else does. Ask a jeweller what the work will involve before authorising it.

Most domed hearts carry somewhere between two and four millimetres measured from the back plate to the highest point of the curve, though larger sculptural pieces go further.

That figure matters more than overall width for anyone who wears close-fitting knitwear, since relief is what makes a shape read through fabric and what decides whether the piece lies flat or stands away.

Where a listing gives a depth or a thickness in millimetres, it is describing this dimension rather than the gauge of the metal itself, which on a hollow piece is very much thinner.

On a well-made piece it is, and it should be, because a pendant turns during wear and its reverse is seen regularly by anyone sitting opposite the wearer.

What to look for is an even polish, a joint that cannot be felt with a fingernail, and no dimple where a hollow has been closed with filler.

A flat and cleanly finished back also keeps the piece's options open, since that is the surface a jeweller has to work with afterwards, whether the job in question is a repair or an addition.

A small catch, usually a sprung tongue that snaps into a lip on the opposite rim, or else a friction fit where the two halves grip each other along the edge.

A sprung catch gives a definite click and is easier to trust; a friction fit loosens gradually as the rim wears and can open without being noticed.

Either way the hinge and the catch are the moving parts of the piece, and they deserve the same periodic look that a clasp does, since both wear at their point of contact.

Most often at the centre of the face or a little above it, where the widest part of the form gives a setting room to sit without breaking the outline.

A stone set near the point at the bottom is more exposed and more likely to meet things, so it is usually kept small or sunk into the metal.

The listing names the stone and states its size; the images show where it sits on the form, which is what actually governs how the finished piece reads at normal viewing distance.

Measure the width of the piece and compare it with the span between your collarbones. A heart occupying a small part of that distance reads as delicate; one occupying much of it reads as a statement.

Relief counts alongside width, since a deeply domed heart occupies visual space that a flat outline of the same measurement does not, and it also stands further off the body.

Both figures appear on the listing in millimetres, which is a steadier guide than judging scale from a photograph, where the framing and the model between them distort any comparison.

A finished necklace removes a decision and arrives ready to wear, with the chain chosen by whoever designed the piece to suit its weight and its proportions.

A pendant bought on its own lets you set the drop yourself and use a chain you already like, which matters if you layer or have a preferred length.

Listings on this page state whether a chain is included, so the choice is visible before you buy rather than after the parcel arrives, and where one is supplied the stated length tells you where the piece will sit.

It can, provided the chain and its clasp carry the combined weight and both openings are wide enough for the pieces to slide freely along the links.

Two pieces sharing one chain will find their own positions and touch each other constantly, so softer metals and exposed settings can mark over time, particularly where one of them is much the heavier.

Where two elements are meant to sit apart from one another, a chain with fixed stations, or simply two separate chains worn at different lengths, is the more dependable arrangement.

No. An opening design is built as two halves around a hinge and a catch from the outset, with a rim thick enough to house both. Converting a sealed piece would mean remaking it.

A jeweller can sometimes add a component to the outside of an existing piece, a fitting or a loop, but that achieves something different and does not turn a sealed heart into a hinged one.

If an opening piece is what you want, it is a decision to take at the point of purchase rather than afterwards, because the construction is settled long before the metal is ever formed.