Coin jewellery has been created for millennia, almost as long as coins themselves have existed as objects of exchange and memory. Over time, makers and collectors alike have transformed coins into wearable keepsakes — and at Prenoa, this tradition continues with careful attention to balance, preservation, and respect for the coin itself.
Working with historic coins means listening to what each piece allows. Some coins are naturally versatile: their size, weight, and metal lend themselves to a wide range of settings. Others carry a character that gently guides their future form, shaping whether they become pendants, paired designs, or milestone pieces within a collection.
Last year, while developing our domed coin capsules — created for pocket-watch style pieces and more substantial necklace designs — we began refining a new bail structure that could also be used with single domed and flat coins. The result was a setting that allowed the coin to sit more evenly, more securely, and with a quiet sense of framing above the surface.
We call this the Prenoa Arch Design, and it has since become a natural extension of both our milestone jewellery and our Core Collection, as you may notice when browsing the website.
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The Prenoa Arch Design uses a double-soldered bail that forms a gentle bridge above the coin rather than attaching at a single point. This allows the piece to sit evenly when worn, improves durability over time, and preserves the full outline of the coin. The result is a setting that feels balanced, considered, and true to the character of the original object. We pay careful attention to ensure the edges of contact with the arch is even, chamfered and central, before carefully using fine amounts of 925 or 9caract gold solder to a-join to the coin, without causing any damage. This process takes a little longer than our standard round bails, but the result is defining.
Over time, this structure has become a natural choice for many of our sixpence, farthing, and milestone buyers, where a piece is being made to symbolise protection and presence when worn. The arch is a feature without being overpowering.
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Beyond its practical strength, the arch carries a long visual language of shelter and guardianship. In architecture it marks thresholds and places of passage or points of view; in jewellery it has often been used to frame objects of meaning, from Victorian lockets to watch seals and modern pendants such as the heart and tag designs made famous by Tiffany & Co. In each case, the curved bridge above the piece allows it to hang evenly while quietly protecting what lies beneath. In the Prenoa Arch Design, this same gentle structure sits above the coin like a small architectural safeguard, keeping the history it carries balanced, visible, and held in place.
You can shop our range of coin pendants and pieces that have been finished in this way, by clicking HERE or visiting the following products.
