Personalised Photo Locket Necklaces

What a Locket Is — and How It Differs

A locket is a pendant that opens on a hinge, holding a real printed photograph behind a small frame. That is what separates it from the other photo pendants we make: the picture is a real printed photograph we fit inside the locket in our workshop from the file you upload, rather than an image micro-printed under a lens. If you want the difference explained properly, see what a locket is, or compare all three approaches in the wider personalised photo necklaces range.

One Photo or Two

Nearly every locket here holds either one picture or two, and the choice is more practical than it sounds:

Practical takeaway: the two-picture lockets are the larger share of this collection, so if you want a single portrait you are choosing from a smaller, more delicate set of shapes.

Heart, Oval or Angel Wings: Picking a Shape

The shape sets the tone. Heart lockets read as romantic and are the natural pick for partners, mums and grandmothers; oval lockets feel more classic and vintage, suiting heirloom-style gifts; angel wings designs carry a remembrance feel, often chosen to hold the photo of someone deeply missed. Look at the pendant size on each product page too — a larger face shows a photo more clearly, while a smaller locket sits more discreetly on the chain.

Engraving and Birthstone Touches

Most lockets in this collection can be engraved with a name, date or short message, and several heart designs add a birthstone for the wearer's birth month. Because engraving is applied as the piece is made to order, a locket can mark a specific person and moment — it does not just hold the photo, it captions it. For picture-in-pendant styles beyond lockets, the wider personalised photo necklaces range includes hidden projection designs as well.

On engraved lockets the usual allowance is 10 characters, with the widest designs taking up to 25 — enough for a name and a year, but not a sentence. Spaces and full stops each use one character, so count the message before you commit to it. The engraving is cut into the metal, so unlike the photo inside, it cannot be changed later.

Getting the Photo Right

Choose a clear, close-up image where the face fills most of the frame and upload it on the product page — we print it to the size of the locket's opening and fit it before dispatch, so there is nothing to trim or assemble. Our guide to photo locket necklaces shows how the picture sits inside each style. If you are still comparing styles, the round-up of the best photo locket necklaces sorts the options by recipient.

How the Photo Gets Into the Locket

1. Upload your photo on the product page and position the crop so the face fills the frame — detail shrinks fast at this scale.
2. We print it at the size of that design's opening and fit it inside the locket in our workshop.
3. The locket reaches you finished — open it to look, with nothing to trim, seat or assemble.

The print is fitted to stay in place rather than to be changed later, so choose the picture you will still want to open the locket to in years to come.

Already have an empty or heirloom locket at home? Our free locket photo maker crops a picture to its heart, oval or round frame and prints it at true size, ready to cut out.

Occasions Where a Locket Lands Perfectly

Lockets suit gifts with a story attached: anniversaries, Mother's Day, graduations, new babies and remembrance. For a sympathy gift specifically, you may also want to compare our memory necklaces with a photo alongside the lockets here.

Caring for a Locket

A locket has a hinge and a clasp, so treat it gently: open it over a soft surface, wipe the silver with a polishing cloth after wear, and store it flat in its box. Keep it away from perfume and water to protect the rose-gold plating, and the finish will stay bright and tarnish-resistant through years of wear.