Choose the photo before the frame. One face, cropped tight, holds up at pendant size, and a crowd shot does not. Then keep it small. Most pieces bought here weighed under 5 grams, light enough for a fine chain day and night. Take 14K in the gold she already wears. Each pendant is made around your picture, so allow about two to three weeks.
The photo: picture pendant, photo necklace for her, memorial pendant for mom
Pick one face, close up and sharp. At this size a single face stays clear, while a group shot goes to blur. A bright, focused phone picture works. Where a listing explains the step, you upload the photo when you order. Only the big 14K heart opens like a locket and holds the picture inside. Few listings say how the image is put on, so ask the desk, and ask to see it first. Most of these frames also sit in our men's photo pendants, whose guide covers them for him.
Frame size and grams: small photo pendant, mini photo pendant, how big
Stay under an inch wide for a piece she never takes off. About two in three pieces bought were that small. The minis run about half an inch across. At near 2 grams they sit quiet on a fine chain. At a full inch the weight can double from one frame to the next, because a rotating mount adds weight the width hides. The biggest frames pass 28 grams and want a sturdy chain. The table gives each width in inches and millimeters.
Shape and diamonds: heart photo pendant, diamond photo pendant, natural or lab-grown
Choose a shape she will love to see. Hearts are the shape shown most, ten of them. They run from a small heart under an inch to the big locket. More than half the frames carry diamonds set in prongs around the photo. When the origin is named it is almost always natural, and just two spinning frames are lab-grown. The spinning and rotating frames run among the heaviest. Only one is sold as double-sided, so ask before you plan on two photos.
The gold: 14K, 10K or 18K photo pendant in yellow, white or rose gold
Buy 14K. Most frames are made in it, and that gold stands up to a pendant worn every day. The frame bought most is 10K, a paler gold that also wears well. Two oval Special Edition frames come in 18K, richer in color and a little softer. Each frame comes in yellow, white and rose, so match the gold she wears most, and check that your color is still offered.
Making and returns: custom photo pendant, how long it takes, deposit, returns
Order early. Plan on about two to three weeks for a photo pendant on one of these frames. For a one-of-one designed around your picture, a deposit pays for its 3D design, and the desk gives the timing once you approve the renderings. A deposit on made-for-you work stays with the shop. For a name or a date, see women's custom name pendants. Once your photo is in it, the pendant is final under the refund policy. A piece not changed for you may be returned unworn and unaltered in a window of fourteen calendar days from delivery. Ask customer service (service@traxnyc.com, 212-391-3832) first for the return label we issue, and its cost leaves the refund with the five percent restocking fee. Bring photo questions to the live chat, or text the photo to 212-872-9692 from 10 AM ET.