Stella Necklace

I bought this for a coastal trip and fully expected it to be a one holiday piece. It was in salt water every single day for nine days, then the pool at the hotel, then straight to dinner without so much as a rinse most nights. Since coming home it has stayed on through daily showers and a lot of lake swimming. Four months of that and the beaded chain has not stiffened or spotted anywhere, and the starfish has no water marks or cloudiness in the textured areas. I genuinely never dry it, I just leave it on and let it be. It is the only necklace I own that I do not think about before getting in the water.

I have a small collection of gold plated necklaces that all went brassy or blotchy within about six weeks, usually starting on the chain rather than the pendant. This one has been worn daily since the end of February and it has not shifted a single shade. I teach swim lessons, so it is in chlorinated water four days a week, and I sweat in it constantly in between. I have never used a polishing cloth or any cleaner on it. The starfish is still the same warm molten gold and every bead on the chain is still bright, including the ones at the back of my neck where things usually turn first. At this point I have stopped waiting for it to age because it clearly is not going to.

Beaded chains are usually a problem for me because there is so much surface pressing into my neck all day, and my skin reacts to nickel within a couple of hours. I ordered this for a holiday and had a backup necklace packed just in case. I never needed it. It has been on my neck almost every day since March with no redness, no itching and nothing where the pendant sits against my chest. That includes sleeping in it, wearing it damp out of the shower and sweating in it through a very hot summer. My sister has the same skin and borrowed it for a week with no trouble either, so she has ordered her own.

Hot water, shampoo and conditioner every morning without fail. The chain has not stiffened and the pendant has not spotted. I stopped taking it off entirely months ago.

The gold tone and the textured finish are genuinely beautiful, and the beaded chain is a nice touch. The pendant itself is daintier than the listing photos suggested — pretty, just more subtle than I'd planned for.

Between the light pendant and the flexible chain there is nothing to notice. It is the necklace I reach for when I want zero fuss.