Tiger Keychain

Keys go everywhere, which makes a tiger keychain one of the most handled tiger pieces of all. The keychains in this collection fall into a few clear families: glass domes with a tiger's face sealed beneath them, a zodiac medallion marked with the Years of the Tiger, gold-tone cubs covered in rhinestones, and flat metal charms with a more graphic, engraved look.

Glass domes that magnify the face

The most common style sets a printed picture under a clear glass dome, held in a silver-tone setting and linked by a short chain to a split ring. On the Bengal Tiger Keychain, the picture is a close photograph of an orange tiger's face against a green background, its eyes level with the viewer. The curve of the glass enlarges the image a little and catches reflections, so the face seems to sit just below the surface and shifts slightly as the keychain turns in the light.

The Bengal tiger is the tiger of the Indian subcontinent, and its orange coat with black stripes is the one most people picture first, which is why the photographic dome is such a direct way to carry the animal. The same build holds other pictures across the range: one renders a tiger's face in streaks of glowing orange and white on a green ground, almost like a light painting, and another carries a small version of the zodiac design described below.

The tiger keychain and the Chinese zodiac

The Zodiac Tiger Keychain is built like a small medallion. A domed picture sits in a wide brown frame that looks carved, with a border of small crosses, and the whole piece hangs from a silver-tone chain and ring. At its center a dark tiger walks across an orange ground, circled by a band of colored blocks printed with the Years of the Tiger from 1902 to 2034, and around that a ring of element symbols: flames, waves, trees and gold ingots among them. It is listed at 35mm.

In the Chinese zodiac the tiger is the third of twelve animals, so its years come back every twelve years. Tradition also links each year to one of five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal or water) and holds that a Wood Tiger and a Metal Tiger, for example, differ in character. Read that way, the medallion is a compact chart of the whole cycle, which makes it a natural gift for someone born in a Year of the Tiger. A smaller glass-dome version with the same artwork, at 20mm, sits in the range too.

Rhinestone cubs in gold tone

For more sparkle, two designs turn the tiger into a gold-tone cub paved with clear rhinestones, with the stripes picked out in black enamel. The Shiny Tiger Keychain stands on all four legs, its head turned toward the viewer, with black eyes, a black nose and larger white stones at the paws. The Tiger Keychain Woman stands upright like a small teddy bear, with a round head, arms and legs set as separate pieces, and a striped tail hanging down between its feet.

Both hang from a gold-tone ring with a clip clasp at the top, so they fasten just as easily onto a handbag strap as onto a set of keys. With the black-and-gold contrast and the glitter of the stones, they read more like jewelry than hardware, and they sit comfortably beside gold-tone rings and bracelets.

Black, white and bronze

The Black and White Tiger Keychain trades color for contrast: a tiger's face drawn in white on a black ground, its whiskers fanning out in fine lines, under a domed glass cabochon in a round metal frame. Its options offer that frame in gold, silver or bronze tone, so the same drawing can lean warm or cool. In gold, as in the product photo, the frame gives the stark drawing a slightly vintage feel.

Bronze tones run through the more graphic pieces as well. One is a flat cartoon cub cut from metal in an antique bronze finish, with engraved stripes, a small smile and one paw raised in a wave. Another is an oval medallion pierced with a paw print and a row of long claw marks, more emblem than picture.

A guardian on the key ring

The tiger has a long history as a protector. In Chinese folk tradition it is believed to drive away evil spirits, and tiger images have been hung over doorways and sewn onto children's hats and shoes for that reason. A tiger on the key ring carries that old idea to the front door, and for those who hold the belief, it makes the keychain a small charm as much as an accessory. For many others it is simply a reminder of the qualities the tiger is said to stand for: courage, strength and calm in the face of danger.

Small gifts with a clear message

A keychain is one of the easiest tiger gifts to give, because it needs no size and gets used every day. The zodiac medallion suits a Year of the Tiger birthday, the rhinestone cubs suit someone who enjoys a bit of shine, and the photographic domes suit anyone who simply loves the animal. For bigger ideas, our list of tiger gift ideas covers clothing, jewelry and decor, with suggestions for adults and for children.

From keys to bags and phones

A keychain often ends up clipped to a bag, and our tiger purse collection has a few to pair with it: saddle bags with tiger prints on the flap, zip-around wallets in orange fur print or black and white, and a small pouch with a cartoon cub. A tiger phone case carries the theme to the other object that comes out of the pocket all day, with ink-painted tigers, neon outlines and white tiger cubs for a long list of iPhone models. All of them belong to our tiger accessories collection, along with backpacks, mugs and patches.

Asked about these keychains

Which keychains come in more than one finish?

The Black and White Tiger Keychain offers its frame in gold, silver or bronze tone. The other designs each come in the single finish shown in their photos.

How do the keychains attach?

Most hang from a split ring on a short chain, which threads onto keys in the usual way. The rhinestone cubs add a clip clasp above the ring, so they can be fastened to a bag strap or a belt loop without opening the ring.