Home Get Inspired Pendants Optometry Graduation Pendant — Eye-Shaped Gold Keepsake

A polished yellow gold almond eye-shaped pendant on a chain, engraved with 'Berkeley Optometry' along the top and 'Dr. Morales' along the bottom, featuring a central bell tower flanked by an etched eye chart and a phoropter instrument.

Optometry Graduation Pendant — Eye-Shaped Gold Keepsake

Gold plated silver

A father set out to mark his daughter's graduation into optometry with a pendant that told the whole story of her new profession — a bell tower for the school, an eye chart and a phoropter for the work itself, and her name for the achievement. The design went through several full reworks to fit everything legibly onto a piece just over an inch across, moving from a circular frame to an open eye shape so the details could actually read. The back carries a private inscription from the family, and the front carries the rest.

'The phoropter and eye chart came out great.' — on seeing an early render

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Achievement Daily wear Gift for child Graduation A Gift That Says Everything Graduation

Quick specs

Design type

Pendants

Primary Metal

Gold plated silver

Primary Stone

No stone

Accent Stones

None

Style

Building landmark Engraved Graduation Logo Symbolic Word text

Design Complexity

Complex

Intent

A Gift That Says Everything Graduation

Intent: Certainty

High

Size

Pendant approximately 1.5in wide (almond/eye shape). Chain not separately specified.

How they made it distinctive

01
Open almond/eye-shaped silhouette chosen specifically so lettering and small motifs would stay legible at just over an inch across
02
Bell tower, eye chart, and phoropter combined in one design to represent both the school and the optometry profession itself
03
Bell tower given its own separate high-polish finishing pass after it cast with less shine than the other two motifs
04
Front carries the professional milestone while the back carries a private family inscription, kept separate from the public-facing design
05
University name spelled out in text rather than reproduced as an official crest, avoiding licensing restrictions while still naming the institution

How you'd make it yours

Metal: this piece is 14k gold plated sterling silver; a new commission could use solid 10k or 14k gold for a heavier, longer-lasting piece

Center detail: this piece uses a bell tower motif; a new commission could use a different landmark, a gemstone, or a different symbolic centerpiece

Outline shape: this piece uses an open almond/eye shape; the same layered-motif approach works in a circular or oval outline as well

Back engraving: the private inscription on this piece could carry a different message, date, or set of names on a new piece

One of a kind: this exact pendant was designed for one client's family and is not reproduced — a new commission is an original piece inspired by this one, not a copy

Design changes made

The design moved from a circular eye pendant to an open almond/eye-shaped silhouette after early concepts couldn't fit the lettering and instrument details at a wearable size; the central eye motif with hand-painted iris detail was dropped in favor of a bell tower flanked by the eye chart and phoropter designs.

Who this is for

This is for someone who wants a professional milestone piece that actually explains the milestone, not just marks that one happened. It's especially right if you're commemorating a specific field or specialty and want the symbols of that work built into the design itself, alongside a private message only the wearer knows is there.

How it's made

Once the final design was approved, a wax model was produced using a 3D printer, then attached to a wax tree and invested in plaster before the wax was burned out in a kiln to leave a hollow mold. Molten 14k gold plated sterling silver was cast into the mold, then the piece was extracted, cleaned, and polished. Finishing was done in stages to give the raised lettering, bell tower, and instrument details a crisp, high-polish read against the recessed background areas. The bell tower and the two instrument motifs were finished separately to achieve the shine the client requested, since the tower initially cast with a duller surface than the eye chart and phoropter. The back engraving was added as a final detail pass after the front design was locked.

Key note

The bell tower needed a separate high-polish finishing pass because its recessed surfaces initially cast with less shine than the flatter eye chart and phoropter details.

Pricing guidance

A complex figurative pendant like this, combining raised lettering, a landmark motif, and instrument detailing at a compact scale, sits toward the higher end for pendants of this size in gold plated silver. Most of the cost comes from the hand-finishing required to keep small raised details crisp and legible, plus the extra design iteration needed to fit dense detail into a small area. Metal choice and the number of separate finish passes are the biggest levers on price from there.

Moves price up ↑

↑
Casting in solid 10k or 14k gold rather than gold-plated silver
↑
Adding a center gemstone or glass eye detail as originally considered
↑
Including a two-sided design with equally detailed front and back engraving
↑
Requesting additional custom design rounds beyond the standard revision process
↑
Adding more raised sculptural elements (such as the originally requested iris and pupil detail)

Moves price down ↓

↓
Simplifying to a single-sided design with plain back engraving only
↓
Reducing the number of distinct motifs (dropping either the eye chart or the phoropter)
↓
Choosing a simpler pendant outline (circle) instead of a custom eye shape
↓
Using a single uniform finish rather than multiple high-polish finishing passes
↓
Sticking with the first approved design rather than requesting multiple redesign rounds

Questions people ask

Can you fit a lot of text and small details onto a small pendant?

There is a real limit to how much detail can survive casting at a small scale. Raised text and small sculptural elements below a certain size can be too thin to cast cleanly, or too delicate to hold up to daily wear. On this piece, the design went through several rounds of revision specifically to figure out which details could stay legible and structurally sound at just over an inch across. Moving from a circular layout to an open eye shape freed up enough room to keep the lettering and instrument motifs readable.

What is gold plated silver and how long does the plating last?

Gold plated silver is a sterling silver base with a layer of 14k or 18k gold plating over the top, giving the look of solid gold at a lower material cost. The plating is a real but thin layer, and it will gradually wear with daily contact, especially at high-touch points like the back of a pendant or a clasp. Higher-karat plating tends to hold its color longer than lower-karat plating. Most wearers get a year or more of good wear before considering re-plating, depending on how often the piece is worn.

Can you engrave the back of a pendant separately from the front design?

Yes, a two-sided pendant can carry a fully different design on the back from the front. On this piece, the front carries the professional and institutional details while the back carries a private family inscription, added as a separate finishing pass after the front design was finalized. Back engravings are typically simpler than the front design since they are usually text-only. This is a common way to keep a personal message private while still displaying the primary design outward.

What does a custom figurative pendant like this typically cost?

A pendant with this much raised detail, combining text, a landmark motif, and small instrument-style elements, typically falls toward the higher end for pendants of this size when made in gold plated silver, and higher still in solid gold. The main cost driver is labor: fitting several distinct design elements into roughly an inch and a half of space requires multiple design revisions and several separate finishing passes to keep everything crisp. Choosing solid gold over plating, or adding a center stone, would push the price up further.

How long does it take to make a custom pendant like this?

A standard custom pendant typically takes about one week for design and three to four weeks for production once the design is approved, but a pendant that goes through multiple full redesigns will take longer at the design stage. On this project, the design phase extended over several weeks because the layout changed significantly more than once before being finalized. Once a design is locked and paid for, production itself (wax model, casting, finishing) still runs on the standard three to four week timeline.

Can you include a university or organizational name on a pendant?

Yes, incorporating an institution's name as text is straightforward and doesn't carry the same restrictions as reproducing a trademarked logo or seal. On this piece, the university name is spelled out in raised lettering rather than using the school's official crest or logo, which avoids licensing concerns while still clearly identifying the institution. If a client wants an official seal or logo reproduced exactly, that typically requires a licensing review before it can be produced.

Why would a jeweler say no to part of an original design idea?

Custom jewelry has real physical limits: extremely fine detail, like a naturalistic iris with color gradation or very small 3D tool shapes, may not survive the casting process at a wearable size, even though it renders well in a digital sketch or AI-generated image. A skilled jeweler will flag these limitations early and propose alternatives that preserve the intent of the design while working within what metal casting can actually produce. On this piece, an initial concept using a glass eye centerpiece was set aside in favor of an open eye-shaped pendant with etched detail, which better balanced the client's vision against what could be reliably cast and worn daily.

Can a pendant like this be resized or made larger to fit more detail?

Yes, increasing the overall size of a pendant is one of the most effective ways to fit more detail without losing legibility, since more surface area allows raised text and motifs to be spaced further apart. On this piece, the design was increased from an original one-inch concept toward roughly one and a half inches specifically to accommodate the lettering and multiple instrument motifs. Going larger does add some weight and cost, so it's a tradeoff between size, cost, and how much detail the client wants included.