Review of the H2O Just add water locket - and musings about them too

As I pointed out in the previous entry, I bought a replica of the lockets featured in the Australian series “H2O: Just Add Water”.

The series features 3 teenage girls that turn into mermaids when they get wet.  Naturally, this brings them close, and they spend the days swimming around and doing what teenager girls do.  As I have not watched the series from the beginning, all I know about the lockets comes from here.  I liked the design and began to peruse the web for replicas.  Can’t help it, I’m a locket addict.

My research yielded 5 locket designs that have been or are for sale.  The first one was sold at Target stores in Australia, but this one is sold out and unavailable anywhere.  The second one is from World Alive, and it is still available for sale at Amazon, ebay, and at an Spanish website (as well as dolls and watches).  The third one comes from a German website.  The fourth one is from a seller on ebay called Beldiamo.  The fifth one was designed by Blue Crockatt, the owner of Sterling Silver Art.

I must confess that at first, I thought about purchasing one as a private joke to myself for having purchased a mermaid tail this summer.  So, I researched the possibilities.  I studied videos of them on YouTube and pictures, and read people’s comments and links, and came out with these conclusions:

- The Australian one was the closest to the one in the series, except for the blue waves in the back and the fact that it had a moodstone.  But this one was not available, so the points were moot.

- The ones on the German website had a good thing: there were 3 available, one for each girl and each one with a different stone (blue, green and red); and these were official merchandise.  But the 3 waves on the back were not in the right direction: they started on the left and went to the right – the opposite of the ones in the show.  Besides, these cost 40 euros plus shipping.  No pics of the inside.

- The World Alive one was almost identical to the Australian one.  Same exterior design, but it did not have “the grainy” inside.  The inside was smooth.  Plus, it came with 3 pictures of the Season 3 girls to put inside.  The back had the 3 waves in blue, and the same moodstone.  It was also official merchandise.  The price was perfect (around $15).

I did not mind the inside.  After all, the locket would be closed while hanging from my neck.  I would have bought this one.  But the price plus shipping was almost $50 (even though it was available from a seller in my own country), and I considered it too expensive for just a metal locket with a plastic stone that changes color.  When I began reading reviews about how it was delicate and prompt to break, plus the metal changed color after being used, I thought maybe it was just a toy for little girls, and it was then when I considered the possibility of buying a sterling silver one that I could use without fear of damaging it.

The seller on ebay had it almost right, and at a reasonable price ($60) for a sterling silver locket with a stone that you could choose the color.  But the overall aspect was different from the ones in the show.  It looked… thinner to me, for lack of a better word.  The waves of the back were perfect though, but it still lacked something.

The one from Sterling Silver Art got my eye the first time I saw it.  I compared it with the one in the show that appears in this video and it looked just perfect, except for the bail.  The ones in the show had a closed bail, and this one was open.  But other than that, I knew that I had found it.  I found the blog of the artist, and said it had been designed with the help of the fans that had not been satisfied with the licensed replicas.  I liked the fact that the customer could choose the stone he/she wanted, and that these stones were real jewelry stones such as a garnet, coral, moonstone or onyx.  The locket comes with a free sterling silver chain, but one has the possibility of adding a rolo chain if one wants to, and the seller has available a box in the shape of a shell as presentation for the locket.  It was proof to me that the seller had gone great lengths to have happy customers and I liked that.

I discovered by chance that she was also on Amazon and on Etsy, and I messaged her over there.  I asked how long would it take for the locket to ship.  She informed me promptly that she was caught up with orders, and that it would take about 3 weeks for my locket to be shipped, if I bought it right away, as she has a policy of first come, first served.  I liked her professionalism and diligence, and bought the locket in the last days of July, and chose an onyx as stone.  I did not want the rolo chain added, but the listing on Etsy included the shell box, which made me happy, as I did want one of those cute boxes.

The locket was sent precisely on August 15^th, and it took a bit more than a week for it to reach Spain.  It arrived in perfect conditions inside the shell box, with a couple of pictures of the H2O show.  The chain it came with was 16 inches long.  And the locket was shiny and beautiful.  It opens perfectly well, but it snaps close firmly, and it does not open by itself.  The size is about the same of the one in the show, and it has a good weight.  Of course, it is sterling silver, and it is marked 925 on the inside.

I have used it and I do not have anything negative to say.  It is a very nice piece of jewelry, and if well taken care of, should last for many many years.

Here are some pictures of the locket:

Front

Back

And a short video so you can see the details.  I changed the chain that it came with for the rope chain you can see in the pictures.  The chain in the video is the original.  Enjoy!