Cremation necklace, urn necklace or locket: what is the difference?
Three words for a necklace that holds something of someone. What each one means, and what to check before you choose.
Cremation necklace and urn necklace are the trade's two names for a pendant made to hold a small amount of ashes. A locket is older and broader, a pendant that opens to hold a small keepsake. Kavacha Designs | Sacred Armor™ makes amulet necklaces that open by hand to a private chamber, so a Kavacha can be any of the three, depending on what you place inside.
What each word means
- Locket. A locket is "a pendant that opens to reveal a space used for storing a photograph or other small items such as a lock of hair" (Wikipedia).
- Cremation necklace. Part of cremation jewelry, which keeps a small amount of ashes in a compartment of a ring or pendant. It is a modern revival of older mourning jewelry.
- Urn necklace. An urn is named for its use, a vessel to hold cremated ashes, rather than for a shape. An urn necklace is a pendant that does the same work on a small scale.
What to check in any of them
- How it closes. Some close with a small screw, and some makers or owners glue the cap shut, which makes the closure permanent. Ask whether it can be reopened and whether anything seals it.
- The room inside, and the opening. Ashes are a coarse powder, so a wider opening is easier to fill.
- The metal, by name. Sterling silver (925), or gold by its karat.
- Whether you want it to look like an urn. Some people want something that reads as jewelry first.
Where a Kavacha fits
A Kavacha is an amulet first. It opens by hand and closes with a twist-lock: the precisely fitted male and female parts align and twist together, and a silicone seal makes the fit snug. The end cap is held on the chain by its bail, so even when the amulet is open, the cap stays attached and cannot slip past the clasp. It comes empty, so it can hold ashes, a lock of hair, a written prayer or a little earth. The largest chambers, in the Kerala Large and the Pankaj, measure about 3.6 to 3.7 ml inside from the design files with the cap closed. A real fill is somewhat less, because you leave room for the cap to close. Necklaces for ashes shows the designs with the most room, and what do you call a necklace that opens sorts the other names, amulet, capsule, taweez and kavach.
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Locket", "Mourning jewellery" and "Urn" (read 9 Oct 2026).
