Pick the width first. A hand about three quarters of an inch across is the everyday hamsa, and a slimmer one reads dainty on a fine chain. Take diamonds in 14K gold, the way most hands here are made, in yellow unless you wear white gold. A hand sold alone needs a chain of yours, or take a set that comes with one. Each diamond hand's listing tells you lab-grown or natural.
The meaning: hamsa necklace meaning, hand of Fatima necklace, hamsa up or down
The hamsa is a raised open palm, worn to keep the evil eye away, and its name comes from the word for five, after the fingers. Many Jewish homes call it the hand of Miriam, many Muslim homes the hand of Fatima, and women of any faith wear it. Our guide to what the hamsa hand means tells the rest, from the eye in the palm to the loop that sets which way it hangs.
Pointing up, the hand is said to block harm, and pointing down, to invite blessing. Which way it hangs depends on where the loop sits, and no listing says, so check the photo or ask us. For more hands, men's and women's together, see all hamsa pendants.
How big: small hamsa necklace, dainty or everyday, how wide a hamsa pendant is
Start near three quarters of an inch across. It is the width most hands here are made in, and nearly every hand sold was under an inch. Go slimmer for a fine chain. Half an inch is the dainty size. From an inch up, the hand shows over a sweater. Most weigh under 10 grams, and the best sellers run lighter, easy to wear every day. The custom cut hands are the smallest, 8.5 mm across.
Diamonds: diamond hamsa necklace, pave or prong set, lab-grown or natural
Take a diamond hand. All but five pieces here carry diamonds, and nearly every gold hand sold did too. Most are set in prongs, and the best seller is micro pave, stones laid so tight the palm lights up as one surface. Where a listing names the carat, the middle one is about seven tenths of a carat in all. Thirty-four listings read natural on the origin line. Five say lab-grown, the custom cut hands among them, each one diamond cut to the shape of the hand. Every diamond hand names one.
Gold: 14k or 10k gold hamsa necklace, yellow, white or rose gold, silver hamsa
Choose 14K for a hand worn every day. It is the gold of nearly every piece here. The best seller is 10K, a paler gold and a little harder, so it takes knocks well. Most come in yellow, white or rose, and two gold hands in three sold were yellow. For a light first hamsa, the one sterling silver charm, a hand and evil eye on its own cable chain, sold second most.
The chain: hamsa necklace with chain, what length for a hamsa pendant, 18 or 20 inches
Bought on its own, a hand needs a chain. Check that your chain's clasp fits through the loop at the top, or tell us its width on the live chat, or pick one from women's gold chains. Or take a set. Fourteen come with their chain. Half of those let you choose from 18 to 24 inches. Eighteen was the length bought most, and it rests the hand just below the collarbone. Twenty drops it a little lower. The hands we carry only in our women's case nearly all come as sets, the custom cut ones among them, and women's pendant sets has more.