ByC Hours Updated
Comments 51 Comments

Coffee Break: Oval Key Pendant

Oval Key PendantThese have been out for a while, but if you haven't seen/gotten one yet — we love the line of Tiffany key pendants. This one in particular seems great for the office because there is a distinct lack of bling. We'd wear it paired with another long look — a long cardigan, perhaps, with a basic tee beneath it. It's $250 for the key and chain at Tiffany.com. Oval Key Pendant

(L-0)

51 Comments

    1. I asked for the Crown style for Christmas after C suggested that it would look great with a black turtleneck. It is a little heavy but I love it.

        1. The keys come in different styles. Check the tiffany website. Some are quite elaborate (and expensive) — I like the figure 8 & the clover.

  2. I almost like these, but I trip over something about the aesthetic – it seems a little precious to buy a shiny new thing made to look like an old thing. What about just getting an actual antique key and wearing it on a brass chain? Give the look a little more edge and personality, in addition to saving you a lot of money.

          1. That looks fine to me. I’d wear it to the office. It’s subtle, but a good conversation piece if someone asks you about it.

    2. I kind of agree, although I’d never wear an antique key in a professional setting. I’d like this necklace as a cute gift (key to his heart), but I’d never buy it for myself.

      1. Why is an antique key inappropriate professionally, while a mass-produced one with the Tiffany logo is appropriate?

  3. I love most of them – I am not really into the ones that incorporate a heart shape – and I would wear it to the office. I have a friend who wears a gold one with diamonds all of the time with a regular length chain and it looks great. I don’t think it’s girly at all, just kind of cool. That said, I like antique keys, too.

  4. key jewelry always makes me think, “what is that the key to?” even though i full well know that it’s just jewelry.

  5. I still associate key-jewelry with the rival sorority in college. I would avoid the necklace just on those grounds. (Nothing against the sorority, I just want to avoid any potential sorority references.)

    2. Haha! I didn’t know that. I was never in a sorority in college, but I’ve had the same problem with a few other pieces of jewelry. I’ve been seeing owls and anchors pieces around recently – as I understand they’re both sorority symbols. I don’t have any anchor pieces, but i have a pair of owl earrings and an owl necklace which I love. Whatever, I still love my owl pieces !

  6. I like the keys. I think they’re less girly that hearts, but I don’t mind hearts either — so long as the jewelry itself is done tastefully.

    What I do really dislike is jewelry that screams Tiffany (or any other retailer) — I think that’s tacky (and also takes away the idea that jewelry is special). So I love the key idea (even in spite of its impending ubiquity), but I prefer the styles that do not have T & CO. inscribed in the front. I think those look much more interesting.

    1. Yes, same here – I dislike anything that screams “X retailer” including e.g. Louis Vuitton bags, Tiffany jewelry, etc.

    2. These keys scream Tiffany, to me. When I saw the key on C’s homepage, I had an inward groan (oh the Tiffany key, yay.) To me, they’re just like the chunky chains with the tag on them. That said, I would probably like the etsy keys. And I can’t help it, I don’t like hearts…

      1. While I like the necklace, my concern is that it’s too expensive for something that’s instantly identifiable as “this season” in Tiffany’s jewelry, meaning that it could look dated before the snow melts.

  7. While Tiffany’s silver designs are nice, I tend to associate them with high school/college/girlish/transition pieces. To me, they are instantly identifiable as “lower-end” Tiffany (especially the heart tag and Elsa Perretti designs), even though I know some of the same designs also come in gold, white gold and platinum.

    1. Aw, I love my Tiffany bean necklace. As a Latina, buying a “bean” from Tiffany just made me giggle. Although I haven’t worn it in ages…

      1. oh i have the elsa perretti “E” necklace and i love it for everyday where. got it as a graduation gift, maybe it looks a little young but i love it.

    2. Completely agree! This type of Tiffany jewelry reminds me of many of the 16-18 year old girls in the middle/upper-middle class city where I grew up, prancing around the mall with their logo Coach or Dooney & Bourke purses they got for Christmas/birthday/whatever.

      1. I totally agree. I actually like a lot of Tiffany pieces, but the logo stuff and really anything that is instantly recognizable as Tiffany seems more suited to my teenage nieces than me.

    4. I have an Elsa Peretti star of David that I wear on a chain. It’s small and beautiful. Many people don’t recognize it for what it is, and it’s a way of keeping my religious beliefs with me as I work. Some of her stuff is young looking, but I love this, especially because it was given to me by my husband. But he and I both try to avoid overly “Tiffany’s” style of jewelry for the reasons you’ve all mentioned above.

  8. This pendant screams tacky to me. I have never seen anyone wear a key necklace but would be perplexed if I did.

  9. Maybe it’s cultural (I’m from Eastern Europe) but the only people I associate key necklaces with is the housekeeper, who carried the keychain and often carried the key to the silver around her neck.

    1. If only looking like the housekeeper was something I had to worry about! That marrying rich plan hasn’t come to fruition yet though.

  10. It’s a decent Tiffany’s necklace for under $300. I like it. I’d wear it. I don’t think it screams high school or tacky or or anything else. I think they are neat and different.

  11. I loved those keys when I first saw them. Instant snap. Craving. But now that they are identifiable as “Tiffany Keys”, it reminds me too much of the teenage girl trend that swept Northern California when everyone who could afford it wore the bracelet with the silver circle….so probably no keys for me. Personally, I like the intricate ones with diamonds. Surprise.

  12. Wow, didn’t know they were so identifiable as a brand. I like it anyway.. but prob. not enough to spend so much money on it.

  13. I have been eyeing these keys for weeks. I love lower end Tiffany pieces. They become “forever” classics. It seems like a gift for a man to buy for a woman, doesn’t it? I would not buy it for myself or for a friend. For the office – in this plain version without the diamonds – maybe – occasionally – with the right outfit – but not to wear as one’s trademark.

  14. It reminds me of all of the people in college/grad school who kept their keys on a school-logo lanyard around their neck when running quick errands/to the dining hall/etc. when no purse was required.

  15. I’m a 3L and there are a million girls in my class with this necklace – after Christmas break everyone returned to school with a Tiffany key. Its so noticeable and distinguishable there is no hiding it… I would be so embarrassed to be wearing the same necklace as everyone else.

  16. I think the key is tacky, Tiffany or not, for many of the same reasons as those noted above: the sorority reference, the “key to what”, the new-looking-old. I would never want to own one, and I would probably shake my head in dismay if I saw one on someone who worked for or with me.

  17. I like the key idea, but don’t think the Tiffany ones are worth it. I went to a locksmith that sells antique looking keys, bought one for $20, and put it on a chain. At least here in San Francisco, lots of locksmiths carry these type of keys, which they can actually grind to fit old door locks in the old victorian houses.

    1. what a neat bit of trivia. i’m a born and raised san franciscan and i didn’t know that!

Comments are closed.