Rating:
Mad Jack’s Pirate Jewelry
– no longer available –

Pirate jewelry is quite the tricky thing – nothing completes a look better, but also nothing is harder to find than that perfect little item for the right pirate.

If you’re wanting jewelry that’s overtly piratey – meaning skulls, crossbones, and whatnot – this can get trickier still. It’s a fine line between pirate, goth, and biker, and finding that proper death head that says “yarrr” is no small feat. This is where Mad Jack’s comes into play rather nicely – his sterling pendants have those nice little touches that make for a proper swashbuckling look.

Most of Mad Jack’s pendants are based on historical pirate flags – the common Rackham and England are nicely rendered, but so too is the less usual Avery, along with several piratey originals. It was one of these originals I chose for the purpose of this review.

Mad Jack’s Sword and Skull pendant is not based on a historical flag, but it clearly looks the part. The cutlass piercing a skull in profile makes for a look not commonly seen, but that effortlessly conveys that proper sense of piracy. It’s a robust piece of work – even the sword’s projecting tips of the hilt would be difficult to break away. And what’s more – it’s a very three dimensional item. Oftentimes, jewelry is flattened so that it looks 3-D when looked at straight on, but then it pancakes as you move to the side. Not so with this pendant – when viewed from the side it may appear to be only half a skull, but a properly proportioned half skull it remains.

Mad Jack’s offers several other unique designs, as well as some various ways of presenting them (bone shaped toggles to affix to bone shaped necklaces and the like), but even at the most basic, this pendant looks smashing on the simple leather strap it was shipped with.

All told, it’s beautiful work, and ruggedly built. Perfect for any pirate looking to hoist the jolly roger around their neck (which beats a noose any day.)