Silver keychain with sitting dog

What does this 5.5 cm rhinestone dog keychain clip onto?

Two fittings come with it and they do different jobs. The split ring takes the keys themselves. A spring-loaded lobster clasp sits above it, opens under the thumb, and lets the whole figure move across to a bag handle, a rucksack zip or the loop inside a tote. Clipped to a dark bag, it is easy to find by eye. Nothing unscrews, so nothing gets left behind.

Where the stones stop and the metal shows

The pavé runs over the skull, down the back and onto the front paws, which is why the figure keeps throwing light whichever way it turns. The ears are the exception: their smooth silver-tone backs carry a single line of stones along the edge and nothing more. That break keeps the piece from reading as one solid block of glitter. The front paws sit clear of the body rather than merging into it, which is what gives the figure its depth. The same shelf holds other figures on this scale, from the cat on its scooter to the dolphin bench.

Three colours on the chest, one under the muzzle

Colour is rationed here. Black does the nose and the eyes, and a single small red tongue shows beneath them. On the chest, purple holds the centre with pink and yellow on either side. Set against a coat of clear stones, those few marks are what make the dog read as a character rather than a shape simply covered in stones.

Shape, height, finish, colours, fastening

Keeping the sparkle from dulling

Rhinestone pavé loses its brightness to build-up rather than to wear. Hand cream, fragrance and pocket dust work their way between the stones and flatten the light. Going over it with a completely dry cloth now and then brings it back, and the edges of the ears and the undersides of the paws deserve the same pass, since they take most of the rubbing from a set of keys. The same habit suits every stone-set piece we keep in the shop, including the versions made to pin on a coat.