The one piece of jewelry that is so incredibly personal to anyone that owns one is a locket. Lockets have been around for hundreds of years and during all that time they have been used for many different things. Lockets are generally associated with pendants that are worn on a chain, but lockets were often used on a ring as well.

In times past a locket was used to carry around small things that had some value to the wearer. Medicine could be kept inside them as well as poison. Ancient times could be very dangerous to live in and the act of poisoning someone who was a threat to you was often a means of disposing of them. It was a lot more common than you might think. Lockets were also used by those who held certain beliefs in herbs and like charms to ward off evil and sickness. The hair or ashes of loved ones was often kept inside a locket as one of many items kept as a keepsake.

Lockets were often used to put a miniature hand painted picture inside. These tiny images of the person inside were very tedious work, but done by an expert artist the result was a beautiful work of art. In the past hundred years or so is when the most popular use for lockets developed so to speak. Placing photographed pictures inside them became their most common use and photos could be had by almost anyone.

The Victorian era was an extremely popular time for the locket. They used the locket for a jewelry piece as much as for their storage capacity. The heart locket was very fashionable. These lockets were made in some very elegant ways. Monogramming a locket was one way to personalize the piece even more. They could be set with gemstones or pearls and the finest metals were used for making them. Although in the past lockets had been made from all sorts of metals such as copper, brass, platinum and silver amongst others. Antique and vintage lockets are very collectible for jewelry lovers.

Lockets are still widely available today and can be bought in many styles. The techniques used for making lockets have improved over time, but they are still delicate, which really only adds to their beauty. They still make as lovely a gift for someone you love as anything you could give them in the way of jewelry.