Choose gothic jewellery by type, and check one different thing for each. For gothic rings, check whether the ring is sized or adjustable, and how wide the band is. For necklaces and chokers, check the length and how it fastens. For earrings, check the ear wire and the weight of the drop. For every piece, check which metal the listing actually names, because that matters if your skin reacts to cheap jewellery.
Buying jewellery from a photograph hides exactly the details that decide whether you wear it. A ring looks the same in size 7 and size 13. A choker looks the same whether it adjusts or not. A cross earring reads the same on a fishhook as on a huggie hoop, until it is in your ear. This guide goes type by type through rings, necklaces and chokers, earrings and bracelets, and names the pieces in our range that show each choice, with the facts from each listing.
Key Takeaways
- Gothic rings come either sized or adjustable. The stainless steel rings here are sold in numbered sizes (5 to 7 on the Rabbit Skull Ring, 7 to 13 on the Viking and Bat rings), and on each one the smallest size costs less.
- A wide band fits more snugly than a thin one, so the GIA advises going a little larger for wide shanks, such as the 10 mm Nordic Viking ring.
- For chokers, look for an adjustment range in centimetres, a buckle or an extension chain. A fixed length is the one to measure against your own neck.
- Huggie hoops sit close and carry a short drop. Fishhook ear wires carry the longer, swinging drops.
- The American Academy of Dermatology names earrings among the biggest nickel culprits. None of the listings in this guide says nickel-free, so check which metal each listing names before you buy.
How do you choose gothic jewellery by type?
Start with where the piece touches you and for how long. A ring sits against the skin of one finger all day, a pendant often rests on fabric, and an earring passes through the skin itself. The closer and longer the contact, the more the metal matters.
Then ask how the piece is sized or fastened. Rings are sized or adjustable, necklaces fasten with a lobster clasp, a buckle or an extension chain, and earrings hang from a hook or close as a hoop. These details decide fit far more than the motif does.
Finally, read the listing, not the photograph. On our pieces, a listing either names a metal (stainless steel, 925 sterling silver, zinc alloy, copper, iron alloy) or describes only a colour, such as "silver" or "gunmetal". A colour is a finish, and it tells you nothing about what touches your skin. Our full gothic jewellery collection is the place to browse once you know what to look for.
Gothic rings: size, band width and metal
With a ring, fit comes before the motif, so decide first whether you want a sized ring or an adjustable one.
Adjustable gothic rings, when you do not know your size
An adjustable ring opens slightly at the back, so it can be eased wider or narrower. It is the safe choice for a gift, for a thumb or a first knuckle, or for fingers that change size through the day.
The Go Riding Witch Broom Ring is a $19.99 zinc alloy ring with a witch's broom in silver and black and an adjustable fit. The Pentagram Stone Ring sets a black or clear cubic zirconia inside a pentagram with leaf details, on an adjustable 4.5 mm band. The clear-stone version is $19.99 and the black is $31.35.
Sized stainless steel rings
A sized ring keeps its shape, which suits a heavy band or a motif that should sit square on the finger. These four name stainless steel on their listings:
- The Nordic Viking Retro Steel Ring has a broad 10 mm surface, in sizes 7 to 13. Size 7 is $19.99, and sizes 8 to 13 are $31.43.
- The Skull Gothic Stainless Steel Ring is listed as 316L stainless steel, in sizes 7, 8 and 9, at $19.99 in size 7 and $30.83 in sizes 8 and 9.
- The Bat Gothic Ring has a bat design, in sizes 7 to 13: $19.99 in size 7, $30.32 in sizes 8 to 13.
- The Rabbit Skull Ring, a long-eared animal skull with a high polish, is the one for smaller fingers, in sizes 5, 6 and 7. It is $19.99 in size 5 and $30.32 in sizes 6 and 7.
Notice the pattern: on each of these, the smallest size costs less than the rest.
How do you find your ring size?
Measure the finger you mean to wear the ring on, not the one beside it. The GIA's ring size guide gives three reasons a single measurement can mislead. Fingers "shrink in the cold and swell in the heat", so a reading from a cool morning can differ from one taken in the afternoon. The knuckle is wider than the base of the finger, and the ring has to pass over it. And rings with wide shanks "usually need to be a bit larger, as they will fit more snugly", which is worth remembering before you order a 10 mm band in your usual size.
Ring sizes are also counted on different scales in different countries. The GIA's international chart sets US and Canadian sizes beside a separate scale for the UK, Europe and Australia. Our steel ring listings give each size as a plain number and do not name the scale. If you are unsure which scale you know your size in, or you sit between two sizes, an adjustable ring is the lower-risk buy. For more rings in one place, browse the gothic rings collection.
Gothic necklaces and chokers: length, clasp and layering
A necklace is decided by where it sits and how it closes. A choker sits at the base of the throat, a pendant hangs lower on a chain, and a layered piece does both at once.
Chokers: look for the adjustment
A choker has little room for error, so the useful detail is how much it adjusts. The Dark Heart Choker states it outright: a 2 cm wide band that adjusts from 36 cm to 42.5 cm, with a chest clip and a strap that runs down over the chest. It comes in black, white, red and pink, all at $19.99. Measure your neck with a soft tape where a choker sits, and if the number falls inside that range, it will close. Our guide to goth chokers and collars goes through the seven types and how to take that measurement.
The Crossfire Choker ($24.99) fastens with an adjustable buckle, and a double swag of chain and a cross-star pendant fall below the band.
For a harder line, the Midnight Steam Choker is a circle choker in cruelty-free PU leather set with silver-coloured studs and hung with three large rings joined by chain, listed at 60 cm and adjustable, for $19.99. For a softer one, the Black Velvet Moon Choker pairs black velvet with an acrylic moon charm and iron alloy fittings, also $19.99. On both, the band that touches your neck is velvet or PU rather than metal, which is worth weighing if metal has irritated your skin before. More of both kinds are in chokers, harnesses and garters.
Pendants and chains: check the clasp
With a pendant, the clasp and the chain matter as much as the symbol. On the $24.99 Chained Cross Necklace, a crystal-paved cross trimmed in black enamel sits on a chunky cable chain at a standard necklace length, and the chain closes with a lobster clasp.
The Gothic Cross Pendant is plainer: a cross pendant listed as stainless steel, for $19.99. If you already own a chain you trust against your skin, a simple pendant is also the easiest piece to move onto it.
Layered necklaces: one piece, two lengths
A layered necklace does the work of stacking for you, with the lengths already set. The $29.99 Cross Coven Necklace scatters filigree crosses of different sizes along a fine black chain at choker length, with a lobster clasp and an adjustable extension chain. That extension is what lets a choker-length piece settle a little lower if your neck is wider or you prefer it looser.
The Woodland Sprite Necklace carries butterfly pendants and green, amber and smoky-toned stones on layered chains: an upper chain frames the throat and the lower strands fall across the chest. It suits a bare or square neckline, where every strand has room to show, and costs $27.99. For crosses and pendants side by side, browse our gothic necklaces and cross necklaces.
Goth earrings: hooks, huggies and weight
The fastening decides how an earring hangs and how it feels by the end of the evening. Two kinds run through our range.
A fishhook ear wire lets a long drop swing. The Sword Cross Earrings, $21.99, set an antiqued sword below a single black bead on fishhook wires, a long statement drop.
A huggie hoop closes snugly around the lobe, so the charm sits close and moves less. The Sacred Cross Earrings hang a fleur-de-lis cross with a set crystal from huggie hoops, with a lightweight drop, for $19.99. The Spiked Cross Earrings ($24.99) pair a crystal-set cross with a hanging black spike on gunmetal huggie hoops, which gives a layered drop.
Size and weight matter on a long evening. The Sterling Silver Bat Earrings are one of the few pieces whose listing gives both: 11.4 mm by 24.6 mm, about 3 g, stamped 925 sterling, for $29.71. The Black Gothic Cross Earring is sold as a single earring, 53 mm by 28 mm, with a zinc alloy body on a 925 silver needle, for $19.99, and its listing says returns are not accepted for hygiene reasons. Check that line on any earring before you order. The full set of drops and hoops is in goth earrings and gothic cross earrings.
Gothic bracelets, harnesses and body chains
Bracelets are the other type we stock, and they are usually sold at one fixed size, so the length is what to check. The Spike Rivet Gothic Bracelet is PU leather with spike rivets, one size at 25 cm, in eight colours, each at $19.99. Wrap a tape around your wrist before ordering and compare. The Black Pink Rhinestone Heart Bracelet hangs a rhinestone heart charm in zinc alloy, $19.99 in black and $32.09 in pink. Its listing gives no length, so it is one to ask about before gifting.
Harnesses and body chains sit between jewellery and clothing, and they live in the same collection as our chokers. How to wear one over a dress, a corset or a top is covered in our guide to wearing a body harness.
Which metals suit sensitive skin?
Nickel is the metal to know about. The American Academy of Dermatology calls it "one of the most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis", and names "earrings, earring backs and watches" among the biggest culprits, though necklaces, rings and bracelets containing nickel can also cause symptoms. Its general advice for people with a nickel allergy is to wear only jewellery that is nickel-free or hypoallergenic, or made from metals such as surgical-grade stainless steel, 18, 22 or 24 karat yellow gold, pure sterling silver or platinum. If you have had a reaction, a dermatologist is the person to confirm what you can wear.
Here is what the listings in this guide say, and no more:
- Stainless steel: the four sized rings and the Gothic Cross Pendant. One ring is listed as 316L. None of these listings uses the words surgical-grade or nickel-free.
- 925 sterling silver: the Sterling Silver Bat Earrings, and the needle, though not the body, of the Black Gothic Cross Earring.
- Zinc alloy: the Witch Broom Ring, the rhinestone heart bracelet and the body of the single cross earring.
- Copper: the Black Ghost Dangle Earrings, $19.99.
- Iron alloy: the fittings on the Black Velvet Moon Choker.
Many of our cross pieces describe a colour, such as antiqued silver or gunmetal, and name no metal at all. If you react to nickel, treat an unnamed metal as unknown rather than as silver.
Brands or pieces: where to go next
This guide is about the piece: the size, the fastening and the metal. If your question is whose jewellery to buy, from pewter and plated pieces to sterling silver and handmade work, our comparison of goth jewellery brands sets six brands side by side by material and price.
Frequently asked questions
What should I check before buying gothic rings online?
Look for three things on the listing: a numbered size or an adjustable fit, the band width, and a named metal. A sized ring needs your size on the right scale, a wide band usually needs a slightly larger size, and a named metal such as stainless steel tells you more than a colour like silver or gunmetal.
Are adjustable goth rings a good idea?
Yes, when you are unsure of your size, buying for someone else, or wearing a ring on a finger that swells in warm weather. An open back lets you ease the fit a little either way.
How tight should a goth choker be?
Snug enough to stay put at the bottom of the neck without pressing when you swallow or turn your head. Measure your neck where the choker will sit and compare the number with the listing's adjustment range, buckle or extension chain.
What is the difference between huggie hoops and fishhook earrings?
A huggie is a small hoop that closes around the lobe, so its charm sits close and swings little. A fishhook is an open wire that passes through the piercing and lets a longer drop move freely.
Is gothic jewellery safe for a nickel allergy?
It depends on the metal, not the style. The American Academy of Dermatology advises people with the allergy to wear only pieces that are nickel-free or hypoallergenic, or made from metals such as pure sterling silver, platinum or 18, 22 or 24 karat yellow gold. Read which metal each listing names, and ask a dermatologist if you have reacted before.
