The Nantucket Charm Edit
Coastal Jewelry
Basket charms, whale tails and shell studs — small, gold, and specific to this coast.
Island jewelry is quiet.
No one on Nantucket is wearing statement pieces to the beach. It's a gold basket charm on a thin chain, a pair of shell studs, one bangle. Small and specific — the kind of thing somebody asks about because they recognize it, not because it's loud.
The Island Classic
Lightship Basket & Nantucket Pieces
The woven basket charm, the ACK pendant, and the pieces that only mean something if you know the island.
Jewelry
14K Gold 3-D Nantucket Basket Dangle Earrings
Two miniature woven baskets on gold ball posts, each with a swinging handle and a hinged lid — the most wearable heirloom in the category, and the pair that gets noticed at every summer wedding.
Jewelry
14k Yellow Gold Nantucket Basket Drop Earrings — Woven Dangle Posts
Deeply woven 21 x 11 mm gold baskets that swing from polished posts with push-back closures — the dressier drop version of the studs, and the pair I'd wear with a navy linen dress to dinner at the Wauwinet.
Jewelry
14K Yellow Gold Large Nantucket Lightship Basket Pendant
Solid 14K yellow gold, cast with every woven stave and the little hinged clasp on the lid — a swinging bail handle that moves the way a real lightship basket does. This is the heirloom version: the piece you buy once, wear forever, and eventually hand down.
Jewelry
Vintage 14K Yellow Gold Nantucket Lightship Basket Charm Pendant
A true vintage 14K gold lightship basket, cast with every woven stave and a swinging bail handle that moves the way the real thing does. One of one — the estate-piece version of the island's most collected charm.
Jewelry
10K Yellow Gold 2-D Nantucket Lightship Basket Charm
Solid 10K yellow gold with every woven stave textured into the basket and a swinging bail handle — the flat 2-D version that lies perfectly under a collar. The island charm you buy once and wear for the next forty summers.
Jewelry
14k Yellow Gold Nantucket Basket Charm Pendant — 10 mm
Solid polished 14k gold with an open back and a fixed arched handle — 10 x 10 mm of basket, 17 mm with the bail. Small enough to live under a collar every day, which is exactly how the island wears it.
Jewelry
IceCarats 10K Yellow Gold Nantucket Lightship Basket Pendant — Petite
A petite solid 10K lightship basket, 10.4 mm across, with a hinged lid and a hanging handle cast in real gold. The best first gold basket to buy — the weave is honest and the scale is perfect for layering.
Jewelry
Nantucket Basket Rattan Bracelet Stack — Sand Dollar, Scallop, Sailboat, Lighthouse & Clam (Set of 5)
Hand-woven natural rattan bangles finished with polished silver Nantucket charms — sand dollar, scallop, catboat, Brant Point lighthouse, and clamshell. The stack every island girl builds up one summer at a time.
Jewelry
Cape Cod Nantucket Basket Bracelet (Sterling Silver & 14K Gold)
A sterling silver hook cuff crowned with a hand-cast 14K gold lightship basket — the island heirloom that stacks perfectly with the classic Cape Cod bracelet and never leaves your wrist.
Jewelry
Nantucket Island Sterling Silver Charm Bracelet
A hand-forged sterling link bracelet with an oxidized map of the island itself at the center and a classic toggle clasp — the piece an island person spots across a dinner table, and the one I'd give for a milestone summer.
Jewelry
Rare 1980s Nantucket Lightship Basket Scrimshaw Necklace
A true vintage find — a 1980s gold-tone lightship basket pendant with a hand-etched scrimshaw whale medallion set into the lid, swinging on its own little handle. This is the piece island women bought at the height of the basket-jewelry era, and you almost never see one come up.
Jewelry
Michael's Jewelers Provincetown Nantucket Basket Bracelet — Sterling & Gold (7.5")
A rhodium-finished sterling bangle that hooks closed through a gold woven basket, with a little gold coil at the other side — the Cape-and-islands bracelet done properly, and the one that never leaves the wrist.
Jewelry
Cape Cod Nantucket Lightship Basket Bracelet (Sterling & 14K Gold Basket)
Sterling silver cuff with a hand-finished lightship basket charm — available with a gold or silver basket, each one with the tiny woven staves and hinged lid rendered in miniature. The most recognizable piece of jewelry on the island.
Jewelry
Nantucket Woven Basket Bangle Bracelet (Sterling Silver or Gold Vermeil)
A slim polished bangle with a miniature woven lightship basket as the clasp — the detail on the weave is remarkable up close. Sterling or gold vermeil; the milestone piece islanders give for graduations and big birthdays.
Jewelry
JewelryWeb Sterling Silver Rhodium 3-D Moveable Large Nantucket Basket Pendant
A generous 23 mm rhodium-plated sterling basket with a lifting lid and swinging bail — the bright, tarnish-resistant version for someone who wants the full-size statement without the gold price.
Jewelry
Vintage Sterling Silver Nantucket Lightship Basket Charm Pendant (Opens, 1.25")
A true vintage find — marked .925 sterling, hand-detailed woven staves, a swinging bail handle and a scallop-shell clasp on a lid that actually opens. Ten grams of solid silver at 1.25 inches, and only one of them exists. The lightship basket charm collectors hunt for.
Jewelry
Sterling Silver 3-D Moveable Large Nantucket Basket Pendant
A big polished .925 basket with a rope-twist rim, a lid that actually lifts and a handle that swings — the sterling piece I'd give a goddaughter for a milestone birthday and expect to see on her for decades.
Jewelry
Nantucket Basket Latch Cuff Bracelet (Sterling Silver with Gold Basket)
A slim polished sterling bangle that hooks closed on a tiny gold lightship basket — the Cape Cod bracelet's island cousin, made by Cape Cod Jewelry. The one that slides on in June and doesn't come off.
Jewelry
Sterling Silver 925 3D Woven Nantucket Basket Necklace
A tiny three-dimensional lightship basket cast in solid 925 sterling — swinging handle, woven staves, and a hinged lid, exactly like the real thing on Main Street. The island heirloom I'd wear on a rope chain with a white linen shirt and pearls in the ears.
Jewelry
Nantucket Basket Pendant with Etched Lighthouse Top (22K Gold Plate, 18" Chain)
A tiny Lightship basket you can wear — 22K gold plate with a hand-etched lighthouse scrimshaw lid. The island, on a chain.
Jewelry
Nantucket Basket 3D Pendant Necklace (Silver Tone)
A fully three-dimensional little lightship basket with a rope-twist rim and a swinging handle, hung on a bright silver-tone cable chain — the everyday version of the island's most beloved charm.
Jewelry
Nantucket Whale Tail & ACK Sea Glass Style Charm Necklace
A frosted sea-glass Nantucket island silhouette layered with a sterling whale tail and a hand-stamped ACK disc on a delicate silver chain — the sweetest little island souvenir I'd wear with a white eyelet sundress all summer long.
Jewelry
Cape Cod Nantucket Basket Sterling Silver Stud Earrings
Tiny sterling silver Nantucket lightship basket studs on the classic blue-island keepsake card, tucked in a drawstring sail pouch — the sweetest little island heirloom for the ferry ride home.
Jewelry
Nantucket Lightship Basket Charm Earrings (Gold Pewter, Round Basket)
Tiny hand-cast gold pewter lightship baskets — swing handle, woven staves and all — on slim French wires. The little island earring that weighs nothing, goes with everything, and is always the thing people ask about at dinner.
At the Neck
Necklaces, Pendants & Charms
Whale tails, scallop shells and simple gold chains that layer without competing.
Everyday
Earrings & Studs
Shell studs and small hoops — the pair you put in for the ferry and forget you're wearing.
Wrist & Hand
Bracelets, Bangles & Rings
Enamel bangles, rope bracelets and pearls that look inherited.
Before You Order
How to Wear and Buy It
- 1. One metal at a time. Gold reads warmer with navy and a tan. Pick a lane and stay in it.
- 2. Three chains, one pendant. Two inches between lengths keeps layers from tangling and looking fussy.
- 3. Solid or gold-filled for swimming. Plated pieces will not survive a season of salt water.
- 4. Rinse at the end of the day. Fresh water and a soft cloth. Salt and sunscreen do the damage, not the ocean.
- 5. Under $100 gifts best. A basket charm or a whale-tail pendant is the island gift that always lands.
Questions We Get
Jewelry Questions
- What jewelry is classically Nantucket?
- The lightship basket charm above everything — a tiny woven basket with an ivory or gold lid. After that: whale tails, scallop shells, a simple gold bangle and pearls that look inherited rather than bought.
- Gold or silver for coastal jewelry?
- Gold, mostly. It reads warmer against a tan and it sits better with navy and white. Silver works if you wear it consistently — the mistake is mixing three metals on the same wrist.
- Will jewelry survive salt water?
- Solid gold and sterling do fine; gold-filled is usually fine; plated pieces will not last a season of ocean swims. Rinse everything in fresh water at the end of the day.
- What makes a good island gift?
- Something small, specific and wearable — a basket charm, a whale-tail necklace, a pair of shell studs. Gift-ready under $100 is the sweet spot.
- How do I layer necklaces without it looking fussy?
- Three chains at most, with at least two inches between each length, and only one pendant. The rest stay plain.
The Coastal Cottage Styling Guide
A 12-page Nantucket-inspired playbook — hydrangea-blue rooms, weathered cedar curb appeal, and the pieces I'd buy again tomorrow. Plus the weekly Sunday finds. Free, no spam.
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