Livery Collars and Necklaces of Links – Parts for DIY or Full Collars

The links
The most famous medieval collars of repeating  links are the livery collars associated with the Lancastrian kings of England with links in the shape of the letter S. There are several extant collars in precious metal and paintings and documentary evidence of others. We have links in pewter in the shape of letters (S, A, E, M), for SCA orders (Laurel, Pelican, Rose), an elegant long openwork link, and a beautiful round link that takes glass stone inserts in many colors. (We also have a naughty link of Louise in flight.) All are set with rings at identical spacing, so they can be mixed and matched. The long link is the only true replica; parts of eight links of this form and size were found on the Thames foreshore during excavations 1989-91.

The buckles, chapes, and trefoil
We offer a set of buckles and chapes with a trefoil; these are adapted into pewter from a silver collar of Esses found on the Thames foreshore in 1983. This is a fairly short collar that will not slip over your head, and lays close to your neck. If you prefer a longer necklace style, the links can be made up in a circle or with a trefoil to hang a pendant from.

Note: The small circular pendant with a twist is also adapted from that precious metal collar of Esses. From any slight distance it resembles the SCA Laurel wreath, so you should use your best judgement on adding it; it does look great in Wars of the Roses applications.

Putting the parts together into a collar
We suggest  making these collars up with a slightly smaller connecting ring on the inner edge near your neck and a slightly larger connector on the outside. Each link comes with one larger and one smaller stainless steel connecting ring (we include a couple extra of each sort in case you drop one while putting your collar together.) If you have an idea for a different way of linking these, rings beyond the two per link (plus a couple) are available at 10 cents a piece. Please order them separately from the pulldown menu.

We will also make collars for you; write us to discuss what you would like.

To get an idea of prices, the Collar of Esses in the picture gallery includes 21 S links and a buckle set. The cost of the parts is $47.50. If we made it for you, the completed collar would be $60. The long collar with roses and garnet stone links includes 15 rose links, 16 stone links, and a trefoil. The cost of the parts is $72.50. If we made it for you, the completed collar would be $104.

Colors and specifications
We have a lot of choices: stick with us here…
Available colors for the links with glass stones: garnet, red, rose, orange, yellow, green, aqua, blue, purple, opal. When you order, add a note about what color(s) you want.

These links are various sizes, so you need different numbers of them for the same size chain. Below is a list of the links and how many you need of each to make long necklace style collar (~ 30 inches or 77cm) or the short collar that fits near your neck and closes with the buckle fittings (~22 inches or 55cm). Circumference of the short collar includes the buckles and trefoil. We’ll be glad to help you work out how many links you need if you prefer a different length – especially if you are mixing and matching with alternating links:
SS     37     21
AA     30     16-17
EE     30     16-17
MM     30     16-17
Rose      32     17
Laurel     32    17
Pelican     32     17
Long bar     20     Will not work well
Round with stone    30     16-17
Louise     24     13

We have an evolving Pinterest page of livery collars and necklaces at https://www.pinterest.com/macs_shop/medieval-collars/.