Psst! Pendants with Secret Compartments

BY BELLA NEYMAN

It is hard to conceive of a more beloved piece of jewelry than the classic locket.

Lockets were especially popular during the Victorian period (1837-1901), and we have countless examples of Victorian jewelry inspiring contemporary designers. The many motifs and styles popular from that period, which include snakes, crescent moons, stars, lockets, and fobs, resonate with us today as we seek connection in a world that can occassionally feel heavy.

Worn close to the heart, lockets are hinged pendants that traditionally photographs, handwritten messages, and even hair and teeth. At this year’s Las Vegas Jewelry Week, designers debuted pendants with hidden compartments, reviving the tradition of jewelry made for the wearer. These “if you know, you know” designs conceal private spaces meant to hold personal effects, nodding to historic lockets with more surreptitious designs

Lauren Newton’s Scallop Lightkeeper Locket (above), is inspired by the Pools of Light jewels of the Victorian era. Traditionally Pools of Light pieces were wire-wrapped rock crystal orbs. In Newton’s upgraded version, the orb is framed in 18k gold set with rainbow sapphires. The orb also functions as a locket that reveals space for a tiny keepsake.

Jewelry designer Melinda Risk says she never looked to Victorian jewelry for inspiration, although she notes, “my techniques, subject matter, and materials are all from the Victorian era.” Risk creates hidden fantastical miniature worlds as pendants (and rings). “The hidden worlds are a secret for the wearer, if you are having a bad day you can look inside your locket and see your secret world,” she says.

Risk’s work is incredibly intricate: she combines ceramics with metalwork but the hidden worlds allow her to be even more detailed. The designer’s sculptural pieces have some many details, they’re meant to be looked at in the round.

This is an idea that also appeals to designer Kelly Lannen, founder of the 12^th House fine jewelry brand. On July 29, 2026, the designer is launching Pendulum Vessels, a collection of three-dimensional lockets in 18k gold, which she describes as, “part jewelry, part secret. Made to hold your tiniest treasures.”

One of the pendulum pendants in the collection, The Wish Keeper, is a pierced vessel inspired by Victorian vinaigrette jewelry. A favorite accessory of the era, vinaigrettes contained a small sponge soaked in vinegar and essential oils to mask unpleasant street odors. Their intricate, pierced grilles, designed to protect the scented sponge while allowing the fragrance to escape, inspired the pendant’s delicate openwork.