Diamond Necklace or Pendant: What to Choose

What to choose: a necklace or a pendant? It really is a tough question when both are set with diamonds. It depends on your style, preferences and budget. To make the best possible choice of a specific jewelry item you need to know as more about it as you can. That’s why we gathered here the information on the types of necklaces and pendants for you to compare and pick.

Let’s start with necklaces. From stones, bones and shells they’ve evolved into high-end jewelry with precious metals, gemstones and diamonds. Over the centuries necklaces were worn to demonstrate social status, position, religious views, class and a sense of style.

Diamond necklace for women can be classified by length:

• Collar (12-13 inches)
• Choker (14-16)
• Princess (18-20)
• Matinee (22-23)
• Opera (30-35)
• Rope (35-40+)
• Lariat (any necklace that is longer that the rope and often worn in multiple layers draped around the neck)

Necklaces can also be divided by style. We’ll describe several most popular styles of necklaces and compare them with each other to understand the difference.

There’s a possibility you may confuse such styles of necklaces as bib, plastron and festoon as they resemble each other, so let’s start with them. 

According to length, bib can be classified from collar to princess. It’s a massive piece of jewelry with a broad circular or triangular frame often set with gemstones or diamonds. Plastron is also a large necklace frequently consisting of several rows of beads or gemstones, but its length varies from princess to matinee. And there’s a festoon necklace. It can be of collar or choker length and is also a broad type of necklace, but the distinctive design of chain drapes and gemstones gives out the royal vibes you won’t confuse with the previous two.

Lavalier, sautoir and negligee are the next three necklace styles that look quite alike. In order not to get confused, let’s see how they differ. Lavalier is easy to remember by its second name of Y-shaped necklace. It’s a perfect compromise between a necklace and a pendant as the central part of the jewelry is often a pendant-like gemstone with a smaller one single stone finishing the ensemble like a drop of water. Its classical length is from collar to princess, but in the 1920s it frequently reached the opera length. Sautoir, though reminds the lavalier by its style, is much longer. It starts from opera length and continues to the rope and its central ornament is typically finished by a tassel. Among those three negligee is the easiest to determine. It consists of two parallel links hanging from the pendant asymmetrically. The princess is the most common length for negligee necklace. 

As the previous three may become a compromise between a necklace and a pendant, with the next style of necklace you don’t need to choose at all. If you want a necklace, get yourself a chain, if you want a pendant, add it to your chain. Chains are practical, because you may pick any length you want, add a pendant to it or wear it as a single piece of jewelry, pick any style of outfit and even wear with other necklaces together. Simple as they may seem at the first site, chains finish any look perfectly and with ease. 

Another simple but stylish gorgeous classic is riviere. It consists of a single strand of the same gemstones that are either of one size or become slightly larger stone by stone approaching the center of the necklace. The variation of this style set with diamonds has already gained the name of tennis necklace (after the tennis bracelet which has the same style).

All those necklaces look stunning with diamond settings, as well as any jewelry would, but if the cut of the diamonds is selected right, you would undeniably become the center of any event. The kinds of diamond cuts define the look and the price of the jewelry. A professional jeweler may create a masterpiece out of a plain looking necklace or a pendant simply by setting it with the diamonds of a fine cut, while the jeweler who lacks skills may mess up even the most exquisite designed jewelry with diamonds of poor quality.

Pendants have also made their way from bones, teeth, claws and shells, through charms, protective amulets and religious ornaments to the modern fashion and high-end jewelry. Today pendants can be of any shapes, materials and encrusted with any gemstones. Pendants set with diamonds add chic and elegance to any necklace its worn with, and the right diamond cut will provide radiance and shine visible from every corner of the room.

Pendants can also be classified by styles. Let’s look into their variations. 

Probably one of the earliest purposes of the pendants was the protection of its wearer. As humans have always been surrounded by danger the demand for protection increased. Amulets became the part of survival. Since even earlier than the Stone Age every culture of the world is known to have their distinctive amulets, some consisting of certain metals or stones, others contain special symbols or signs. Nowadays, you can combine the urge to protect yourself or the one dear to you with the sense of beauty and style. With an amulet set with birthstone, gemstones or diamonds you may be safe and stylish at the same time. 

If the item is believed to have the magical properties able to protect, thus it should be able to possess any other magical properties. A talisman is believed to provide some supernatural powers or to give some benefits to the person it belongs to. So you may try to attract luck, wealth, health or love with the help of a talisman and choosing a high-end jewelry for these purposes will add a charm to your looks as well.

Other types of pendants you probably know about from fairytales since your childhood are lockets. They are the jewelry pieces of great importance and value for the wearer as they have the ability to contain precious memories, photos or other small items inside them. They give the air of intriguing secret and aristocratic elegance to your image.   

Medallions are most often a coin shaped piece of metal appropriate for identification tags, religious ornaments or zodiac signs. Originally used as the type of awards their purpose now is the self-reward and self-identification and proclamation popularized by rappers. Medallions are easy to make loud statements with, especially when they are made into high-end bling jewelry set with diamonds. 

Another interesting type of pendants is functional pendant. Almost every functional item can become jewelry. Whistles, watches, keys, astronomical and navigational instruments and even USB flash drives can be made into fine diamond pendants. 

And there are fashion or design pendants. They are the pendants made with no specific meaning or purpose except for beauty and style. Everything your imagination desires can be expressed in a piece of jewelry hanging from your necklace.

As you can see, there are types of necklaces and pendants to suit every outfit, style and personality. You can choose the diamond necklace alone or finish it with a beautiful diamond pendant of a special meaning. The decision is yours but if you have an option of getting both jewelry pieces, why choose?