Womens Necklace

What Each Necklace Style Is Called

Jewelers name a necklace by the way its chain carries the decoration, and that name is a quick shortcut when you shop. A style that sounds unfamiliar usually describes something you have already admired on someone else, so the vocabulary is worth a minute.

• Station necklace. Beads or stones fixed at intervals along a visible chain, like stops on a line.
• Pendant necklace. One focal piece hanging at the center, from a flower to an oval stone.
• Tennis necklace. Stones set edge to edge the whole way around, an unbroken line of sparkle.
• Solitaire. A single stone on a fine chain, the simplest sparkle there is.
• Lariat or Y. A vertical drop below the front of the chain that points down the neckline.

Styles also blend. Layered strands pair a short chain with a longer one, and pearl Ys combine a pendant with a vertical drop. A piece that already mixes ideas needs no partner, so it suits someone who rarely wears more than one necklace.

Choosing Sterling, Gold Plate or Steel

The metal decides how a necklace ages far more than the design does. Sterling silver slowly develops a gray film in the air, and a polishing cloth lifts it in a minute. Gold plate, often 18K gold over brass, keeps a warm color and a choice of stones within easy reach but asks you to keep perfume and pool water away from the surface. Stainless steel, in silver or warm tones, resists tarnish and suits most skin, so a steel chain is the pick when a necklace will rarely come off.

• Sterling silver. Polish it now and then and it shines for years.
• 18K gold plate. Warm color that rewards gentle habits.
• Gold tone steel. The low maintenance chain for every single day.

Matching a Necklace to the Day

Office days call for something that lies flat and quiet under a collar, such as a small gemstone pendant or a CZ solitaire worn short. Weekends welcome more movement, and that is where lariats and pearl Ys come alive with a plain tee or a loose knit. For an evening out, a colored tennis line puts sparkle close to the throat without needing earrings to match, while a lapis station adds a strong blue to a white shirt or a black dress. If one necklace has to cover everything, choose a pendant on an adjustable chain and move it up or down to follow the neckline you are wearing.

Choosing a Necklace for Her

When the necklace is a present, start with what she already wears. Look at her earrings and rings: mostly yellow metal points to gold plate or gold tone steel, mostly white metal points to sterling silver, and rose gold tone suits someone who happily mixes metals. A stone in her favorite color is a safer bet than a passing trend, and the birthstone necklaces add a personal reason behind the choice. An adjustable chain is the other easy win, because it removes any guessing about how she likes a necklace to sit.

Necklaces built around one stone or shape at the center are gathered on the pendant necklaces page, and the chains in hard wearing gold tone steel sit under stainless steel jewelry. To finish the look at the ear, browse the women's earrings.