Rendering pendants with depth, bail and chain

More than a flat front

A pendant photographed straight on looks like a sticker. Depth comes from a slight angle, so lead with a three-quarter view that shows the face and the edge together. Follow with a straight front view for clarity, a profile for thickness and a back view if there is engraving or a hallmark.

The bail and the chain

The bail is the small loop that connects the pendant to the chain, and buyers notice when it looks wrong. Make sure the bail is modelled and oriented correctly in your CAD file. Hidden bails and enhancer bails should still appear in at least one view, so buyers know how the pendant attaches. If you sell the pendant with a chain, include the chain in at least one render, laid in a soft curve, so buyers understand the full piece.

Lighting for faces and edges

Pendants often have a broad front face that acts like a mirror. A metal environment with large soft lights gives that face an even, rich tone, while a slight rotation adds a highlight along the edge to show thickness. For pendants with stones, pair a soft metal environment with a contrasty gem environment so the stones sparkle without the metal looking harsh. Matte and brushed faces need slightly harder light than polished ones, so their satin sheen reads instead of turning flat and grey.

Personalised pendants

Name necklaces, initials, birthstones and engraved lockets are often made to order. Rendering lets you show the customer their exact pendant before it is made, which reduces back and forth and gives them something to share. Save each version as a variant, or upload each personalised file into a collection for that customer. Our guide to personalised jewelry previews walks through a simple approval workflow.

Backgrounds and grounds

A light background with a soft contact shadow suits most pendants. For lockets, religious pieces and heirloom styles, a dark background with a mirror ground adds weight. If you want to place the pendant on a photographed chain or a branded layout, export it on plain white and remove the background with any free background remover.

Worn images with AI

The AI photoshoot has a pendant placement that shows the piece hanging on a fine chain just below the collarbone. Choose from six skin tones and eight styles, including everyday lifestyle for daily-wear pieces and festive Indian styling for traditional designs. The AI is told to keep your design as rendered, so results stay close to it, and you check each result before you use it.

Video ideas

A slow turntable shows the front, the edge and the back in one clip, which is ideal for engraved pendants. For social posts, the push in motion in AI video adds a gentle move towards the front. For worn images, AI video can add a soft light sweep that catches the metal. A multi-angle clip that ends on the engraved back makes a thoughtful gift video.

Religious and symbolic pendants

Crosses, Om symbols, Ganesha and Khanda pendants, evil eye charms and zodiac signs are bought with care, and buyers look closely at proportions and detail. Render the front straight on so the symbol reads correctly, then add a three-quarter view for depth. Keep backgrounds calm and lighting soft, and avoid dramatic angles that distort the shape of a meaningful symbol.

Birthstones and coloured stones

Birthstone pendants depend on accurate colour. The gem library covers stones such as amethyst, aquamarine, citrine, garnet, peridot, sapphire, ruby, emerald, topaz and tourmaline, so pick the preset closest to the stone you set. If the same pendant comes in every birthstone, save each as a variant and export identical angles for a clean, comparable set of images.

Lockets and moving parts

Lockets open, and buyers want to see inside. If your CAD file includes an open version, render it as a separate image so shoppers see the photo space and the hinge. Pendants with moving parts, such as spinners or charms that swing, render as modelled, since the studio does not animate parts. Upload a version for each position you want to show, and let a turntable video show every side of the piece.

Sizes for shops and social

Square images of at least 2000 pixels suit most shops, and 4:5 portrait images work well for pendants on Instagram. Use 9:16 for Stories and Reels.

Mistakes to avoid

• Only a flat front view, so the pendant looks thin.
• A bail that is missing, rotated or too small.
• No back view for engraved pieces.
• Selling with a chain but never showing it.