The Locket (object)

For the episode centered around this object, see The Locket.

Victoria with the locket

The Locket is a family heirloom passed onto Robin by her grandmother. Since her teen years, Robin intended to use it as her "something old" item at her wedding. It first appeared in the episode Something Old. It is revealed Robin buried it in Central Park in 1994, on a "father-son" bonding trip. In May of 2013, she returns to Central Park, weeks before her wedding, in order to dig it up. Robin Scherbatsky Sr. and Barney are too busy to help her look for it that day, so she calls Ted, who shows up. She eventually digs up the box, but the locket is missing, which causes her to doubt marrying Barney.

In Something New, Lily reveals to Ted that Robin drunkenly dug it up before he was going to marry Stella, and Lily put it in Ted's racecar pencil box.

In The Locket, it is revealed that the locket was no longer in the racecar pencil box, and Ted went to L.A. to look for it in Stella's storage unit.

In Sunrise, it is revealed that Victoria had the locket, and she overnight shipped it to Ted from Germany. The package shows up at Ted's apartment, where Jeanette steals it and forces Ted to meet up with her, where she throws it off a bridge into a river, realizing how crazy it's making Ted act.

In The End of the Aisle, Robin says she is freaking out because she stills thinks it's a bad sign she never found the locket. She then says she's disappointed Barney never found it, because she wants to "be with a guy who comes through for me". Ted decides to give the locket to Barney, to give to Robin, who is ecstatic. However, Robin asks to see Ted and tells him she knows he found it. She catches him in a lie and Ted comes clean, revealing he jumped into the river to retrieve the locket after Jeanette threw it away. This causes Robin to second guess marrying Barney, realizing he lies all the time. She wonders if she should run away with Ted but he refuses to accept it as anything but a panic attack. Robin decides to run away anyway, and bumps into Tracy McConnell, who tells her to take three deep breaths. Robin does so and when she opens her eyes, Barney is waiting for her. He tells her the only vow he'll make is "I will always be honest with you, because I love you", helping Robin feel secure in marrying him. In keeping with his vow, he then tells Robin that Ted found the locket. They kiss just as Ted walks in but he smiles and walks out before they see him. Robin wears the locket during the wedding ceremony.