Amulet jewelry has been spellbinding us for millennia. Today, new, antique and vintage amulet necklaces, pendants, gold amulet jewelry and other amulet accessories are favorites of jewelry lovers all over the world.
The oldest form of jewelry is said to be the amulet, and necklaces, which have a long and dazzling history, were so treasured that they were buried with their owners. Our earliest ancestors ascribed meaning — and magic — to “amulets” made of feathers, bones, stones and even tree bark. They wore amulet necklaces or carried these amulets for protection or to enhance their strength, courage or sexual attraction. Over time, these were replaced with symbolic objects: small replicas of animals, plants and, later, gods.
For the Egyptians, there was no more potent protection than the image of the scarab, otherwise known as the dung beetle. They believed it was a male-only species that reproduced itself by depositing its seed in dung, which its babies then fed upon. By turning waste to life, the scarab symbolized the god Khepri of the rising sun — “he who has come into being from nothing” — and hence both transformation and resurrection. So wondrous were the powers of the scarab that it became a popular amulet throughout the ancient Mediterranean (for example, the scarab could be seen in signet rings from Greece crafted circa 500 B.C.).
And the dung beetle continues to fascinate designers as a symbol even into our present day, with none other than John Galliano creating an Egyptian Revival necklace for Christian Dior’s Spring/Summer 2004 collection (the audacious British designer worked with Dior from 1997 until 2011). In the center of his piece is an orange Lucite scarab.
Like primeval man, the jeweler Temple St. Clair believes that any adornment can be a power object, so long that it has special meaning to us. She should know. St. Clair began her storied design career — she’s the first contemporary woman jeweler to have her work included in the jewelry collection of the Louvre — by conceiving modern-day Renaissance-inspired amulets. (And just as women rarely took to wearing a single necklace during the Renaissance, men of the era layered chains and valuable pendants atop their bejeweled clothing.)
Find antique and vintage amulet necklaces on 1stDibs.
Whether you’re layering multiple jewelry pieces or opting for a single strand, vintage pendant necklaces are versatile accessories that can elevate your casual wear as easily as they can add a creative flourish to your formal attire.
The earliest jewelry was less about accessorizing than it was about wearers arming themselves with amulets. In Ancient Egypt, some amulets featured a loop so that they could be strung around one’s neck. While rubies have long been one of the few gemstones that can give diamonds a run for their money, members of some ancient civilizations valued the stones from the get-go, donning ruby pendants as well as other stones with the belief that these adornments would bring protection, healing powers or strength. Today, we still wear our charm bracelets and charm pendants around our necks for good luck.
Later, pendant necklaces, like most fine jewelry, were worn strictly by royalty or the upper class and conferred wealth and prestige. This changed over time, thankfully, as wearing jewelry became more widespread, a democratized means of personal expression.
During the 18th and 19th centuries, pendant necklaces evolved from their status as spiritual amulets, but the jewels still carried deep personal significance. Victorian pendants, in particular, were part of the “mourning jewelry” tradition. Wearers would embed their pendants with locks of hair from a deceased loved one as a way of grieving in the wake of a loss. In the case of cameo jewelry, some pendants were even decorated with miniature hand-carved portraits in a detailed raised relief. Today, portraiture is still a characteristic of many of the hand-carved pendant necklaces offered by Italian jewelry house Scala Gioielli.
Luxury fine jewelry brands such as Cartier, BVLGARI and David Yurman offer their own unique interpretations of the cherished accessory, embellishing platinum or gold pendant necklaces with diamonds, sapphires and other stones.
On 1stDibs, find an extraordinary range of vintage pendant necklaces and other necklaces today.