Tiger Pendant

A tiger pendant gives the animal a single small frame, and the pieces in this collection fill it in very different ways: a face engraved into a silver-tone tag, a photograph of a tiger beneath a clear dome, a tiger carved in relief as it comes down through the clouds, or a zodiac wheel printed with the Years of the Tiger. Some hang from fine chains and others from braided cord, in finishes that run from bright silver tones and antique bronze to gold, black and blue.

Engraved and sculpted tiger pendant designs

The metal pieces carry the finest detail in the range. The Pendant Tiger Guardian of the Jungle is a round disc with a tiger gazing straight out from its center, the fur around its cheeks and brow drawn in dark engraved lines, while the bright field around the face has a softly worn look, like an old coin. It is listed at 29x29mm. The Silver Tiger Pendant is a long rectangular tag with a fine crosshatched background, and its tiger is cut off by one edge, so only one ear, a single eye, part of the muzzle and a ruff of fur fit on the metal, as if the animal were just stepping into view. It comes in two sizes, 20x40mm and 25x50mm.

Other designs work in the same spirit, such as a rectangular tag with a tiger's face seen head-on, its whiskers fanned across the metal, and an oval medallion where a tiger stalks down from a rock, tail curled over its back, among clouds, reeds and flowers. Dark shading fills the grooves on all of them, and that contrast is what gives the fur its depth.

Tigers beneath a clear dome

A large part of the collection sets a printed picture under a clear, domed cover that catches the light. The pictures cover a wide range: a tiger's face in close-up, a tiger stretched out on a rock beneath a pink evening sky, a tiger lying in green grass, a cub at the side of an adult, a white tiger shown in black and white, a pencil-style drawing, and one design given over entirely to orange and black fur. The frames are teardrops and circles, many of them offered in a choice of antique bronze or silver tones.

The Pendant Tiger Old Sage belongs to a family of crescent-moon designs. A silver-tone moon, cut through with curling filigree, cradles a small round dome with a tiger's face looking out of it. Elsewhere in the collection the same moon holds other scenes, from a tiger resting in the snow to an illustrated tiger roaring against a yellow and blue background, each on a chain listed at 45cm.

Carved in relief, hung on cord

The Antique Tiger Pendant has a character all its own. It is a rectangular plaque in a golden-brown material, carved in relief with a tiger coming down headfirst, jaws open and tail curling high behind it, while swirling clouds fill the space around its body and run along the top edge. A silky play of light moves across its bands. It hangs from a braided cord in dark red-brown, below a black bead lettered in gold, and the options list two models, Braided and Pearl.

A tiger pendant for the Year of the Tiger

The tiger is the third of the twelve animals in the Chinese zodiac, and the Zodiac Tiger Pendant turns that cycle into a design. A dark-toned bezel holds a round dome printed with a tiger walking across an orange medallion, circled by the Tiger years from 1902 through 2034. An outer ring places a small emblem beside each date for its element in the Chinese calendar: a flame appears next to 1926 and again next to 1986, since each pairing of animal and element returns only once in sixty years. The pendant is listed at 2.5cm.

Our article on Tiger years in the Chinese zodiac walks through the full cycle of years and the animal's long history in China, useful background for a pendant whose whole face is a calendar. Chinese folk tradition has also long cast the tiger as a protector: children were dressed in tiger-head shoes and hats in the belief that the animal would keep harm away, and a tiger worn over the heart draws on the same old idea.

Chain lengths and colors

Each listing shows its own lengths and sizes in the options. The crescent moons come on a chain listed at 45cm, and the cub-and-adult portrait at 50cm. One of the engraved tags offers three chain lengths: 20 inch, 21.65 inch and 23.5 inch. Colors are listed design by design: many domes come in bronze or silver, one white tiger design is offered in gold, silver or black, and the fur print adds blue.

Pendant, necklace or ring

The line between a pendant and a necklace is a fine one, and many of the pendants here are shown on a chain. Our tiger necklace collection leans toward statement pieces: sculpted tiger heads on box and wheat chains, a pavé tiger face with green stone eyes, and a round medallion where a tiger faces a dragon. For the same motif on the hand, the tiger ring range runs from sculpted heads to signets with a tiger crest. Both are part of the tiger jewelry range, which also takes in earrings, bracelets and watches.

When the stone matters more than the stripes

Tiger eye pieces are a different kind of pendant altogether: their subject is a banded, honey-colored quartz that flashes as it moves, rather than the animal. They have their own home in the tiger eye pendant collection, where the shapes include a crescent moon, a dolphin, a skull and a drop. A few stone pieces are listed on this page as well, among them polished spheres on braided cords, with tiger eye, red tiger eye, obsidian and amethyst in the options, so both kinds of pendant can be compared in one place.

Questions about our tiger pendants

Which pendant marks a Tiger birth year?

The Zodiac Tiger Pendant does it most directly: its printed wheel lists every Tiger year from 1902 through 2034, each one beside the emblem of its element.

Are any of the pendants in gold tones?

Gold is among the color options, alongside silver, bronze, black and blue. The engraved disc, the tags and the oval medallion are shown in silver tones, and the carved plaque has a warm golden-brown color of its own.

What separates a pendant from a necklace here?

This collection centers on the charm itself, from small printed domes to engraved tags, while the necklace collection is built around sculpted heads, pavé faces and fine outlines. The two overlap, since many pendants are shown on a chain and some necklaces can be bought without theirs.

Do the pendants come with a chain?

Yes, with two exceptions: the Antique Tiger Pendant and the Tiger Eye Gemstone Necklace come on a cord or a string of beads instead.

Disc, tag, dome, crescent or carved plaque: each tiger pendant in this collection gives the animal a small stage of its own.