September 04, 2026

Antique Lockets: How to Date One, Open It Safely, and Wear It

By Sasha Tarasova

Filed under Jewelry Eras & HistoryCare, Sizing & Insurance

A locket is the only category of jewelry designed to hold something private. Everything else is display. A locket is a container with a secret in it, and that is why they were made in such enormous numbers and why so many survive.

It is also why they are among the most rewarding antiques to buy — and among the easiest to overpay for, because condition problems in a locket are usually on the inside.

Dating a locket by how it was built

Style is a weak dating signal, because popular forms were reproduced for decades. Construction is far more reliable.

Early to mid Victorian (1837–1870). Substantial, often large, usually yellow gold or gold-filled. Heavy chased or engraved decoration covering the whole front. Simple push-catch or friction closures. Frequently designed for hair rather than photographs — which tells you the piece predates photography being commonplace.

Late Victorian (1870–1901). The peak of locket production. Machine engine-turning appears alongside hand engraving. Star-set diamonds — a small stone sunk into an engraved star — are extremely characteristic of the 1880s and 90s. Photograph compartments with glass covers become standard.

Edwardian (1901–1915). Lighter, smaller, more delicate. Platinum and platinum-topped gold appear. Openwork, milgrain and seed pearls. Restraint replaces density — the same shift visible across all Edwardian jewelry.

Art Deco (1920s–30s). Geometric outlines, enamel, onyx, marcasite. Often on longer chains, worn low.

The named styles

• Book locket — opens on a spine hinge like a book, sometimes with several leaves inside for multiple portraits
• Ball locket — spherical, opening on an equatorial hinge; often part of a set with matching earrings
• Mourning locket — black enamel, jet or onyx, frequently with a hair compartment and an inscription and date on the reverse
• Photo locket — one or two glazed compartments; the most common form and the most collected
• Vinaigrette and scent locket — pierced interior grille, made to hold a scented sponge

Gold, gold-filled, or neither

This is where money is lost, because a great many Victorian lockets are not solid gold and were never sold as such.

Gold-filled is a thick layer of gold mechanically bonded to a base metal core. It is not plating — the gold layer is substantial and can survive a century of wear. Period marks include G.F., 1/20 12k G.F. or rolled gold. A well-made gold-filled Victorian locket is a legitimate antique and can be beautiful. It is simply worth a fraction of a solid gold equivalent.

Pinchbeck, a copper-zinc alloy, appears in Georgian and early Victorian pieces and is now collectable in its own right.

Check the bail, the rim and the hinge for wear — base metal showing through at high-friction points is the clearest indication of gold-filled construction. Then look for marks. Our hallmark guide covers what the stamps mean, and equally importantly what an absent stamp does and does not prove.

Opening a stuck locket without destroying it

Almost every antique locket you encounter will be stiff. A hundred and forty years of compressed dirt, dried oils and slight metal distortion will do that.

Do not pry it with a knife or a coin. This is how rims get bent, hinges get sprung and lockets stop closing properly forever. A bent rim is often worse than a locket that will not open.

Instead:

1. Find the catch. Most lockets open opposite the hinge. Look for a small lip, groove or thumb-notch on the rim.
2. Warm it gently in your hands for a minute. Slight thermal expansion helps more than it sounds like it should.
3. Use your thumbnail in the notch with steady, gradually increasing pressure. Not a sudden force.
4. Try slight rotational pressure — a gentle twist rather than a straight pull — while your nail is in the groove.
5. If it does not yield, stop. Take it to a jeweler who handles antiques. Ten minutes of their time costs far less than a bent rim.

Never use oil or lubricant. It migrates into the compartment and stains whatever is inside — which may be irreplaceable.

What to check before buying

• Open and close it several times. The catch should hold firmly. A locket that springs open in wear will lose its contents and eventually itself.
• Inspect the hinge. This is the first thing to fail. Look for splayed knuckles, a replaced pin, or solder repair.
• Check the rim for distortion from previous prying. Hold it edge-on and look for waviness.
• Confirm the glass and frames are present. Missing interior frames are common and surprisingly hard to replace correctly.
• Look at the bail. It carries the entire weight and wears to a thin crescent. A worn bail will fail, and a locket lost off a chain is lost.
• Check engraving depth. Soft, shallow engraving on a piece otherwise sharp can indicate the original monogram was polished out — common, and it affects value.

On contents

Lockets occasionally still contain photographs or hair. If yours does, consider leaving it. That material is the reason the object exists, it is unrepeatable, and it is a large part of what you actually bought.

Wearing one now

Lockets are among the most wearable antiques, because a pendant takes far less physical abuse than a ring.

Check the chain — antique chains are often lighter than the locket demands, and pairing a heavy Victorian locket with a delicate period chain is a reliable way to lose both. Keep perfume and hairspray away from the hinge, where residue accumulates and stiffens the action.

And put something inside it. A locket worn empty is furniture. That was never the point.

If you are hunting a particular locket — a book locket, a star-set Victorian, a specific date — tell us what you are looking for.