Silver keychain with black and white rhinestone turtle

A turtle keychain with a black shell and clear stones

Look at the shell first. Flat black lacquered panels sit at the centre, divided by thin pale ridges that draw out the scales, and the whole rim around them is set with clear stones. The head and the four paws carry the same stonework, with only the tips left dark. Because the smooth panels take up the middle, the piece reads as a turtle from across a room rather than as a block of sparkle. A short dark tail finishes the shape at the bottom. It measures 6.5 cm excluding the attachment, so the clasp and the ring add a little more again.

Two sides, two finishes

Turn it over and the second face is quite different: plain silver-toned metal, without a single stone, and a shell hollowed into small raised hearts between irregular scales. A swivel barrel sits between the clasp and the turtle, which is why it keeps turning instead of staying face out, and this quieter side shows about as often as the stone-set one. Only the dark paw tips carry across from front to back. Whether that matters depends on how you use it. Clip it inside a bag and the reverse is the face you see when you fish the keys out.

The short version

Where it sits on the key chains shelf

Most of what we hang from keys is light in colour: clear stones, pastel plush, pale ribbon. This one goes the other way, and the black panels are what make it readable against a busy keyring. If that is the look you are after, the darker charms on the key chains shelf are the ones worth comparing.

A clasp is only one way to carry a small metal figure about. The same taste for stonework turns up on pieces that fasten to fabric instead, and the brooch aisle and its pinned pieces cover that side of the shop.