Silver koala keychain on its branch

What the rhinestones actually cover on this koala keychain

Look at the front and the stones are not scattered about: they run from edge to edge. The head and the belly are paved with clear rhinestones, the ears and the back with black ones, and the line between the two is what gives the animal its pale face. The branch, held across the body, picks up a handful of iridescent stones that turn green or pink depending on how you tilt it. Next to the other silver animals on the same rail, this one has very little bare metal left on show.

The underside, with the settings on view

The back is a different object altogether. No stones at all, just bright, unbroken silver metal with the settings showing through as small hollow drops, the ears and the back finely ribbed, the branch still raised in relief. Nothing sits proud of the surface. You will find the same stones-over-metal treatment on pieces made to pin onto a lapel.

Size, clasp and finish, side by side

Where the koala sits among the other animals

The koala turns up exactly once, while the cat, the turtle and the rabbit each come back several times over. What separates it from them is not the species anyway, but the prop: it arrives holding a branch, and only the cow with its daisy does anything comparable. That one detail changes the outline more than you would expect. Instead of a single compact shape you get a diagonal, with the branch cutting across the body and two small leaves breaking the edge of the silhouette.