Small Gold Chandrakor Hair Pin with Long Pearl Chain

The companion to the other small crescent in this range, and because the two look alike at a glance it is worth being plain about the differences. First, the face: this one is granulated rather than sculpted, the surface covered in tiny soldered beads of gold forming a flower field, with a ribbed band running along the lower edge. The other is worked in raised relief, with flowers standing proud of the surface. Granulated reads as fine texture; relief reads as depth.

Second, the top. This crescent finishes in a sharp pointed tip at its upper end, which gives it a slight upward lift against the hair where the other ends in a rounded curve.

Third, and most useful, the chain is longer. Where the other piece trails a short chain with a single pearl and bead, this one carries a longer length with several pearls spaced along it, so the drop falls further and swings more. On a bun worn low at the nape that extra length shows against the neck rather than being lost in the hair, which is the main reason to pick this one over its sibling.

Three colourways change the centre stone: Pink, the version shown, which reads warm against gold; Green, the least common; and White, clear and neutral. The granulated gold face and the pearl chain are the same in all three.

The fitting is a single straight prong behind the crescent. Make the bun or plait first and secure it, then slide the prong into the hair at the edge of the coil so the crescent sits flat. At about two inches it holds in very little hair, which makes it usable in a small twist or a half-up style where the larger arch pins in this range simply will not stay.

Wear one on its own for an ordinary day, or space two or three along a plait for a festival. Keep in mind that the longer chain can catch in loose hair worn down — it is designed for hair that is up.

A word on the chain itself, since it is the part that will fail first if anything does. It is a fine link chain, and fine chains dislike being pulled. Taking the pin out by gripping the crescent rather than the drop, and storing it laid flat rather than dropped into a box with other pieces, is the whole of what it needs. A chain that does part can be rejoined by any jeweller for very little, so it is not a reason to retire the piece.

At this price it is worth being clear about what the piece is. Copper with a gold-tone finish, a glass centre stone, shell-style pearls. It is not an heirloom and does not pretend to be. It is the ornament you keep in a bag and reach for without thinking, which is a different and in daily life a more useful thing to own than something you take out twice a year.

Base metal is copper with a gold-tone finish. Hairspray is what dulls a plated hair pin fastest: spray first, let it dry completely, then put the pin in, and wipe it with a dry cloth before storing.

About the Gold-Tone Finish

This is brass with a gold-tone plating rather than solid gold, which keeps the price where it is and the weight low enough to wear comfortably. Plating is a surface rather than a bulk property, so how long it lasts depends almost entirely on what it meets — perfume, hairspray and sweat all shorten it, while a dry cloth after wearing and a closed pouch between wearings extend it considerably.

Care

Put this on after perfume, hairspray and hand cream, and take it off before washing, swimming or sleeping. Wipe with a dry soft cloth and use a dry soft brush around the stone settings and between any pearls, where a cloth cannot reach. Store it in a zip-lock pouch — which is what the supplier themselves advise, and the single most effective thing for a plated piece, because it keeps humid air off the metal. Never use silver polish, dip cleaners or an ultrasonic cleaner.