Symbolism
What is the symbolic meaning of key jewelry?
Whatever the occasion, you can use Stephen Einhorn’s Key jewellery collection to make your own meanings. You choose the occasion, let us do the rest.
Keys symbolise freedom, they open things up and lock precious things away.
At its heart, a key is an opener of locks.
Noun: A small piece of shaped metal with incisions cut to fit the wards of a particular lock, which is inserted into a lock and turned to open or close it.
Adjective: Of crucial importance.
What does a key symbolise?
At its heart, a key is an opener of locks. Whether it’s a door, a treasure chest, or the metaphorical heart, keys let us into unknown worlds.
Keys symbolise freedom, they open things up and lock precious things away. They reveal secrets. Superstitions and symbolism around keys abound. Jewish midwives used to give a key to a woman in labour to encourage safe delivery of the baby. In Eastern Europe keys were hung upside down over beds to ward off bad dreams. Several cultures have buried their dead with keys to unlock the afterlife. There are beginnings and endings, but they always lead on…
Stephen Einhorn - Key Pendant Necklace
What is the meaning behind a key charm?
The ancient Greeks saw keys as symbols of knowledge. Key charms can symbolise this authority. They can symbolise love, they can symbolise possibility.
What more fitting gift to bestow on someone then, than a piece of jewellery in the shape of a key? A key pendant necklace or personalised key necklace: a key hanging close to someone’s heart. It is a pathway, freedom, an expression of desire to open up the world. Or a way of making it clear to your loved ones who holds the key to your heart.
Stephen Einhorn Key Charm in 9ct Yellow Gold
What’s the significance of giving key jewellery for a 21st birthday?
In many cultures the age of 21 represents a significant coming of age. A gold key pendant is a traditional present for anyone, male or female. A piece of key jewellery represents the start of the rest of their lives, the opening of many exciting doors to come. Keys are also traditionally given to graduates, and indeed anyone at the threshold to their next adventure.
Stephen Einhorn Key Charm Necklace 9ct Yellow Gold
So whatever the occasion, you can use Stephen Einhorn’s key jewellery collection to make your own meanings.
You choose the occasion, let us do the rest.
Stephen Einhorn Key Sketches For Tim Burton & Disney’s Dumbo Film
Keys we have made
We have made keys for film and for private commissions, all by hand in our workshop at 210 Upper Street, Islington. For Disney's Dumbo we made the key necklace worn by the character Milly Farrier, and for Tim Burton's Dark Shadows a key pendant for the character Angelique Bouchard.
Commissioning a key of your own
A key can be made to mark a 21st birthday, a first home or a new beginning: in silver or gold, set with a birthstone, and engraved. We design it with you, then make it in our workshop. Tell us what the key should open, and we will start from there.
Shop the story
Made in our London workshop
The giving
A heart they have to break
Every piece arrives in a Stephen Einhorn box. For the ones that should be remembered, we wrap the piece in soft cloth and seal it inside a plaster heart, hand painted in the colour you choose. To reach what is inside, they have to crack it open.
Personalised
Engraved by hand
Almost everything we make can be engraved by hand in our workshop: initials on the face of a signet, a date inside a ring, a line only they will understand. Engraved pieces cannot be returned, so if you are unsure of the size, order it plain and we will engrave it afterwards.
Made here, sent from here
Shipping
US prices include duties, taxes and DHL delivery.
Made here
Dispatched direct from our London workshop.
Visit us
See the pieces at 210 Upper Street, Islington, or on a video call. Book an appointment
