Amulets that open
In Tibet the classic amulet is the gau, a small metal shrine worn on a cord with something blessed sealed inside. Two of our pendants are built that way.
- The Wind Horse Locket: a horse's head 49 mm long, 28 g, with a hinged, latching base over a sealed chamber.
- The Tibetan Stupa Locket: a 60 mm stupa, 38 g, whose lotus base unscrews to a hollow relic chamber, with ten natural turquoise set by hand around the base.
Leave either one empty and fill it yourself, or choose Consecrated on the product page and we will fill it, consecrate it and seal it for you at no charge: a lama's robe fragment and a prayer scroll in the Stupa, sacred rice and a robe fragment in the Wind Horse (a consecrated piece is final sale). What people carried inside: The Gau: Tibet's Portable Shrine.
Tibetan Buddhist amulet pendants
The Garuda Pendant is the heaviest pendant we make: 67 g, carved fully in the round. The vajra comes in three forms. The Five-Pronged Vajra Pendant (22 g) is worn on its side on a braided cord; the Garuda Vajra Pendant (33 g) hangs upright; the Garuda Vishvavajra Pendant (39 g) crosses two vajras and holds sixteen garnets.
The Phurba Pendant is the three-sided ritual dagger of Vajrakilaya, and at 20 g the lightest piece here. The Dharma Conch Pendant (31 g) carries the eight auspicious symbols around a crossed vajra. For the stories, read Garuda in Tibet, The Vajra and The Phurba.
The tortoise and the serpent
The Nine-Palace Zodiac Amulet takes the shape of a tortoise, with the nine-palace square, the eight trigrams and the twelve zodiac animals on its back. We gild your own animal in 24K at no charge. It does not open. The Naga Pendant is a 22 mm coiled serpent with a garnet eye, made in an edition of 199. More in The Tortoise That Carries the Sky and The Naga.
Choosing an amulet necklace
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Weight. These run from 20 g to 67 g. The phurba, five-pronged vajra and naga sit lightly; the Garuda you feel every time you move.
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Chain or cord. Most come on a titanium chain of around 60 to 65 cm; the Wind Horse Locket and the five-pronged vajra hang on a hand-braided Tibetan cord of about 60 cm. See each product page, and our men's necklace length guide shows where each one falls on the chest.
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Silver or gilded. The Stupa Locket, conch, phurba and two of the vajras also come in plain oxidised silver, where the carving reads in shadow; gilded editions add 24K gold that catches the light.
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Open or solid. To carry something of your own, a folded note perhaps, choose one of the two lockets.
What we claim, and what we don't
For most of history people wore amulets believing the object would guard them. We write about those beliefs as history and tradition. We do not claim that any piece here protects, heals or brings luck. What it carries for you is yours to decide. The longer story is in What Is an Amulet Necklace?
How they are made
Every piece is carved and finished by hand in S925 sterling silver. The gold is traditional fire-gilding, fused into the silver at around 900°C, and each line is re-cut by hand under a 40× microscope. Shipping is free and tracked, with import duties and taxes paid by us.
