17 Jewelry Expert-Approved Pendant Necklaces

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I had just finished giving a lecture on trends in jewelry when I realized I forgot something. It dawned on me as I walked down 57^th Street from Madison to Fifth Avenue—I was wearing a long pendant necklace (a Dior Rose des Vents in mother of pearl on a 32-inch chain) and there were the long studded dog tags in the window of David Yurman. Louis Vuitton had its own lucky charms visible too. There was a long Tiffany Lock pendant across the street, a Van Cleef jumbo Alhambra on the corner, and yes, there it was, a Bulgari B.zero1 that would hit exactly where you want it to.

How do I account for the rise of the long pendant necklace after the brief and persistent reign of what was known (not, to be clear, by me) as the “neck mess,” that jumble of short and delicate necklaces? A long pendant necklace (at least a 30-inch chain, but up to 35 works) delivers the kind of clean and elegant line that is the natural reaction to the aforementioned mess. It also provides the possibility to layer above it, the way those noblewomen used to in paintings from the Italian Renaissance. And let’s be honest, a long pendant necklace is the easiest piece of jewelry to put on as we make the mad dash out the door—nothing to unclasp or fasten, swift and easy and right over the head. I also like a long necklace because my earrings tend to be big and bold and the length provides a kind of separation between jewelry statements.

For all the reasons above, I have begun to suggest long pendant necklaces to anyone looking for a jewelry gift for their mother, aunt, girlfriend, wife, best friend. I have yet to find someone who does not appreciate it for their own purposes (layered or alone, with a dangling earrings or not) and the talismanic elements of many of the pendants—good luck charms are abundant, as are protective symbols—have incredibly wide appeal. I wear a version of one of the below almost every day, always with large gold earring and sometimes with a thin choker too. My jewelry gifting advice? Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. And I never say no to a long pendant.

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Fish "Perseverance" Necklace

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Big Tokyo Necklace

Vintage "Aries” Pendant

Alessandra Necklace

Wholeness & Internal Compass Necklace

Double-Heart Lariat Necklace

Coin Pendant Necklace

Rose des Vents & Rose Céleste Necklace

Calla Necklace

Double-Chain Necklace

Solanales Crystal Horn Necklace

Crescent Moon Necklace

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