Lucrece Pearl Pendant Necklace

Verified claims

Logo origin

Brand logo originated as a jumper design merging monarchy and futurism.

Design history

Pendant style stems from 1990 Portrait collection and punk safety pin.

Craftsmanship

Orb pendant hand-finished by British artisans with traditional jewelry techniques.

Cultural revival

Orb jewelry revived by Nana anime and 2021 celebrity/TikTok trend.

Punk lineage

Safety pin charm on this necklace is directly descended from 1970s punk fashion.

Handcrafted construction

Hand-knotted pearls and hand-finished orb pendant, handmade in Great Britain.

Materials

Pearly beads are glass pearls, not farmed; brass used for ethical and conceptual reasons.

Durability

Buyers report brass tarnishes and glass pearls wear over time, but hand-knotting improves initial quality and feel.

Safety pin design

Safety pin motif evolved from punk anti-jewellery to handcrafted; now at a more accessible price point.

Design symbolism

Safety pin charm embodies Vivienne Westwood's punk roots and subverts luxury conventions.

Weight

Necklace weighs 5g, lighter than cultured pearl equivalents.

Value

At CAD 395, this costume jewelry is priced for brand heritage.

Celebrity co-signs

Worn by Dua Lipa, Bella Hadid, and Rihanna, driving a TikTok trend since 2021.

Nana subculture

Connected to the cult manga/anime Nana, boosting Gen Z interest.

Design collectibility

Safety pin motif is one of Vivienne Westwood's most collectible designs.

Nana anime connection

Directly featured in Nana anime, a cultural token for fans.

Fit

44 cm strand with extender and spring-loaded clasp places the pendant 4 cm below the collarbone.

Strand

50 hand-knotted 6 mm pearls form a supple, evenly spaced strand.

Versatility

Silver-tone finish complements cool tones and unisex styling.

Metal pairing

Silver-tone and cream undertones pair with both cool and warm metals.

Unisex styling

Categorized as women's, but its punk edge and Nana link make it unisex.

Layering

Weighs 5g, hand-knotted, adjusts; crystal orb and safety pin add sparkle and asymmetry in layers.

Heritage

Design originates from 1990 Portrait collection, rooted in punk, and revitalized by Nana and TikTok.

Wearability

Weighs 5g, silver-tone finish for metal-neutral stacking, and suits all genders.

Tarnish care

Avoid moisture and perfumes; store in dry pouch; polish tarnish with brass cloth.

Pearl and crystal care

Wipe pearls and crystals with a soft, dry cloth after each wear.

Packaging

Presented in a designer-stamped box made from 100% recycled paper.

Local production

Handmade in Great Britain suggests artisanal craftsmanship and a shorter supply chain.

Product record

Title

Lucrece Pearl Pendant Necklace

Brand

Vivienne Westwood

Price

395 CAD

Availability

In stock

How the 17.75-inch length and pendant sit

• At a mere 5 grams—lighter than a standard house key—the necklace feels weightless on the skin; the strand doesn't pull forward, the pendant stays oriented rather than flipping, and you can wear it from morning coffee to late dinner without the neck fatigue that heavier costume jewellery often causes.
• The safety pin isn't just a pendant connector—it's a direct reference to Vivienne Westwood's punk heritage, and its presence on an otherwise classic pearl strand instantly codes the necklace as subversive, allowing the wearer to style it as the unexpected twist in both a business-casual blazer outfit and an edgy weekend look.
• The orb pendant is densely set with cubic zirconia crystals, which match the light performance of diamond to the naked eye, so the orb catches light at every turn of the head and produces a subtle sparkle that elevates the necklace from a simple strand to a piece with genuine presence, especially against solid-coloured tops.
• The 6mm diameter of each of the 50 pearls falls in the petite range for costume necklaces, producing a slender, flexible strand that contours to the neck's shape without stiffness—this fine scale also means the pearl line reads as a subtle textural detail rather than a chunky statement, letting the orb pendant command the attention.
• The silver-tone plating gives the brass chain a bright, polished finish that aligns with cool-toned jewellery collections but also pairs effortlessly with yellow gold, so the necklace functions as a neutral connector in a layered stack without forcing a single metal commitment.
• The lobster clasp, confirmed on the official spec sheet, is the most reliable everyday jewellery closure—its spring-loaded mechanism resists accidental opening, and the small size here remains easy to operate one-handed, so slipping the necklace on and off doesn't become a morning frustration.
• The 2.15cm safety pin charm hangs vertically from the strand, and the 1.75cm-tall orb suspends from its lower loop, so the entire pendant assembly drops roughly 4cm below the pearls—enough to make the crystal orb visible over a crew-neck or button-up collar, turning an otherwise delicate necklace into a defined chest piece.
• The fixed 44cm strand places the pearls right at the collarbone—a universally flattering length that avoids choking or drooping—and the integrated extender chain provides enough play to customise the fit by a finger's width, useful for adapting to a higher or lower neckline without the pendant disappearing under fabric.

Unboxing: gift box, dust bag, and presentation

• The necklace is presented in a Vivienne Westwood-branded box — the brand's own visual identity greets the recipient before the jewellery itself, turning the unboxing into a curated brand moment that reads as a deliberate gift rather than an anonymous purchase.
• Vivienne Westwood jewellery boxes are made from 100% recycled paper, so the box that houses this necklace carries an eco-credential that is rare among conventional luxury packaging — for a gift giver, that detail layers in a story of responsible design that aligns with a fashion-forward, socially aware identity.

How pearls and punk collide in this necklace

• The use of glass-based pearls rather than cultured pearls is a conscious decision by the house, which states it opts for ‘lower impact glass-based or resin pearls as an alternative’ to address the unsustainability of pearl farming — turning a material often dismissed as costume into a statement of environmental activism that aligns with Westwood’s long-standing climate advocacy.
• The safety pin charm directly inherits the aesthetic of Westwood’s early 1970s punk scene, where provocative fetishwear and DIY hardware became anti-establishment statements — the pin’s placement alongside a strand of pearls creates the quintessential Vivienne Westwood collision of anarchic street style with aristocratic signifiers, making the necklace a concentrated dose of the brand’s founding tension.
• The string of glass-based pearls continues Westwood’s project of hijacking the pearl — historically the ‘queen of gems’ associated with royalty and purity — and recontextualizing it inside a punk framework; the house’s own heritage text acknowledges that Westwood and punk ‘played a part in this cultural shift, turning it on its head,’ so the pearls here function not as a surrender to luxury but as a weapon of class critique.
• The orb pendant is a miniature of the logo Westwood created in the mid-1980s by fusing the Sovereign’s Orb from the British crown jewels — a symbol of monarchical power — with a ring of Saturn to modernize and satire it; the emblem has appeared in every collection since, meaning the Lucrece wearer carries a 38-year-old graphic that collapses royal luxury and cosmic rebellion into a single, instantly recognizable icon.
• The orb jewelry’s resurgence among Gen Z is partly fueled by the cult manga and anime Nana, whose author Ai Yazawa filled the series with Westwood pieces as signifiers of punk-aligned identity; for today’s buyer, the Lucrece necklace is not just a fashion object but a cultural token that connects to a global anime subculture where the punk-luxe clash is central to character and narrative.
• The safety pin also carries an erotic subtext, referencing the bondage themes that ran through Westwood’s earliest work; the brand famously bridged ‘the gap (more like cavern) between BDSM and baroque,’ and on the Lucrece necklace that fusion transforms the prim pearl strand into a sensual, subversive accessory that nods to kink without losing its aesthetic polish.
• Produced by hand in Great Britain, the necklace wields the craft signifier of luxury jewelry — skilled artisanal labor — against a deliberately non-precious palette of brass and glass, enacting Westwood’s conviction that value resides in the making and the concept rather than in intrinsic material worth, so the buyer purchases an idea as much as an object.

The safety pin’s punk roots in Vivienne Westwood

• The safety pin entered British punk via Malcolm McLaren, who saw Richard Hell holding his clothes together with them on New York’s Lower East Side in the mid-’70s and brought the look back for the Sex Pistols; Westwood then made it a signature of her Seditionaries designs — this necklace wears the exact motif that transferred the aesthetic of NYC grit to London’s King’s Road.
• Westwood’s Seditionaries collection (1976) at her King’s Road shop SEX used safety pins to hold torn dresses and frayed T-shirts together, deliberately making the fastener a symbol of distressed anti-fashion; wearing this necklace connects to that original punk gesture of making a fastener visible as a statement.
• Westwood’s original punk-era safety pins were intentionally 'anti-jewellery' — found metal and bicycle chains meant to reject adornment — while this necklace’s pin is handmade in Great Britain from polished brass and set with Swarovski crystals, completing the transformation of a non-conformist symbol into a crafted piece of jewelry.
• When Westwood first translated the safety pin into fine jewelry in her Hardcore Diamonds collection, the white-gold, diamond-set pins retailed around $600–$650 — this necklace’s brass-and-crystal version at CAD 395 offers the same core design language at a fraction of the price, making the punk-fastener-turned-luxury-symbol accessible.

What handmade in Britain means for this necklace

• Westwood pearl necklaces are traditionally hand-strung with individually hand-knotted pearls between each bead, a construction method that secures the strand against complete loss if broken and gives the necklace its smooth, even drape with subtle spacing between pearls.
• The crystal-encrusted orb pendant is hand-finished using traditional jewelry techniques; the brand's Orb pieces are known for hand engraving, piercing, and fine soldering, so the pendant's stone setting is artisanal rather than mechanized.
• The Lucrece is manufactured in Westwood's British workshops, carrying the 'Handmade in Great Britain' mark — a signifier of non-outsourced production that implies direct artisan supervision and a shorter, more transparent supply chain than typical offshore costume jewelry lines.

How Lucrece compares to other VW pearl necklaces

• The Lucrece's dangling safety pin charm elevates it beyond the classic orb pendant — this motif is one of the most collectible design signatures in Vivienne Westwood's jewelry, directly anchored in the brand's 1970s punk origins and the non-conformity that defines her aesthetic.
• While the standard Lucrece orb uses cubic zirconia, the configuration sold through Simons is built with Swarovski crystals — a recognizable premium crystal brand that gives the pendant a noticeably higher light refraction and luxury feel compared to basic CZ.
• At £205 in the UK, the Lucrece lands between entry-level pearl chokers like the Mini Bas Relief ($240) and higher-cost long-drop or heavily crystalized styles, offering a cost-effective way to own a safety-pin-enhanced VW pearl necklace without the premium of the top-tier pieces.
• Vivienne Westwood's glass pearls are intentionally cream-tinted rather than stark white, giving the Lucrece a softer, more organic lustre that aligns with the brand's vintage-punk visual language and reads as more authentic against the bright, plastic-like alternatives.
• Although categorized for women, the 44cm chain length and punk-tinged safety-pin-and-orb design align with Vivienne Westwood's broader unisex pearl offerings — men's collections feature similar pearl-safety-pin pieces like the Imogene Necklace, and the Lucrece's lean aesthetic makes it a natural fit for gender-neutral layering.
• The Lucrece is produced in Great Britain under a 'Handmade' label, a provenance claim that distinguishes it from mass-produced fashion jewelry and adds a layer of artisanal cachet — not every VW pearl necklace can claim local craft production.