Description
A petite, hinged oval stone locket of deep red garnet, precisely cut and hinged in 14k recycled gold so that the two halves open like a tiny book of secrets. A functional locket based on Victorian pools of light jewelry, its small interior can hold something special or talismanic — a miniature image, a pressed botanical, a scrap of paper, or any tiny keepsake. Each piece is made entirely in New York City by a family-run collective of local jewelers. The stones are ethically sourced and hand cut and polished by a family-run lapidary in New York.
Sizing & Info
Each piece is made to order and takes approximately 4-6 weeks to ship.
Chain is approx. 20" long.
Our stones are natural and like any material from the earth, may vary slightly in color and character from piece to piece.
Shipping & Returns
Free standard shipping on orders over $150 within the United States. Orders under $150 ship for a flat rate of $10. Expedited options are available, more info here.
Items purchased on kindredblack.com are eligible for return provided that they are returned within 14 days of the ship date and in new, unopened, unused, and undamaged condition. Opened products and custom orders are final sale.
All of our Kindred Black Collection jewelry is created with recycled 14k gold and sterling silver and each piece is made entirely in New York City by a family-run collective of local jewelers. Our stones are ethically sourced and hand cut and polished by a family-run lapidary in New York.
Deep red and orange garnet stones often appeared in ancient Egyptian jewelry and were placed with the dead for burial, accompanying them on their journey into the afterlife. The word garnet comes from the medieval Latin granatus, meaning something close to “having many seeds,” because small red garnet crystals resemble the seeds of a pomegranate. In Greek mythology, Persephone ate pomegranate seeds in the underworld, binding her to return to the realm of the dead for part of each year. Garnet stones became associated with journeys, separation, and return, and were traditionally exchanged between friends and lovers before a long separation as a token meant to ensure that they would meet again.
The Virtues of Ancient Light
The traditions of mystery and divination have deep roots in the ancient Greek and Roman worlds. So much of the imagery that would later become associated with the occult originates in these ancient societies — the oracle, the seer, discovery through dreams and prophecy. At the time, there was no clear divide between religion, medicine, and mysticism. Almost anything in the natural world could act as an instrument of protection or divination because people believed that plants, stones, metals, and other materials could possess powers of their own. They sought visions of the future in bowls of water and other reflective surfaces, used plants in rituals to influence the weather, and wore gems and stones as amulets to repel evil, invite good fortune, or invoke protection from the gods.
This idea that matter itself could possess distinct virtues persisted for centuries. Throughout the nineteenth century revival of occult and mystical practices, amulets and charms were worn for protection and their perceived spiritual properties. Across mystical history, the natural world was understood not as passive, but as alive with hidden properties that could help to make the world more ordered and less dangerous.
The Virtues of Ancient Light is our first in-house jewelry collection, drawing heavily on history’s symbolic language of stones and the enduring human desire to imbue objects with meaning.