The Necklace of Peerless Smithing is one of the most coveted items for players who are dedicated to crafting powerful weapons and armor in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. This enchanted necklace boosts the wearer’s Smithing skill significantly, allowing for the creation and improvement of top-tier gear. Whether you’re refining Daedric armor or forging legendary blades, having this necklace equipped can make a tremendous difference. For players aiming to optimize their character’s gear and push their crafting abilities to the limit, obtaining and using the Necklace of Peerless Smithing is a strategic decision worth making.
What is the Necklace of Peerless Smithing?
Item Overview
The Necklace of Peerless Smithing is an enchanted piece of jewelry that provides a substantial boost to the Smithing skill. The Peerless modifier indicates the highest level of enchantment possible in standard loot tables, granting a +25% increase to Smithing effectiveness. This increase applies directly when improving weapons and armor at grindstones and workbenches, resulting in better stats for your crafted gear.
Unlike potions or temporary effects, the necklace provides a constant passive bonus as long as it’s equipped. It’s especially useful when combined with other Smithing-enhancing items or abilities, making it a core component in maximizing crafting results.
Where to Find the Necklace
Loot Sources and Availability
There is no fixed location where the Necklace of Peerless Smithing always spawns, but it can be found as random loot in chests, blacksmith shops, or as a drop from bosses at higher levels. Players have better chances of discovering it after reaching level 35 or higher, when the top-tier enchanted jewelry becomes available in loot tables and merchant inventories.
Key places to check include:
- Radiant Raiment in Solitude This clothing store has a large inventory of enchanted jewelry and refreshes regularly.
- Blacksmiths in major cities While rare, they sometimes sell enchanted necklaces related to crafting.
- Treasure chests in high-level dungeons Especially those guarded by Draugr Deathlords or within Dwemer ruins.
If you’re struggling to find it naturally, using the Fortify Smithing enchantment through enchanting your own necklace is another effective option. However, the natural Necklace of Peerless Smithing remains valuable due to its high base bonus.
Using the Necklace Efficiently
Combining with Other Smithing Buffs
To fully utilize the benefits of the Necklace of Peerless Smithing, players should stack it with other Smithing-enhancing effects. This includes:
- Fortify Smithing Potions: These provide a temporary but powerful boost, often used before improving gear.
- Other Enchanted Gear: Rings, gloves, and armor can also carry the Fortify Smithing effect.
- The Warrior Stone: Grants a 20% experience boost to Smithing skill progression.
- Well Rested Bonus: Sleeping in a proper bed can increase skill gain further when leveling Smithing.
By combining these effects, players can reach the threshold required to improve weapons and armor to Legendary status, the highest quality tier in Skyrim. This approach is particularly useful for players using endgame gear like Dragonbone or Daedric sets.
Crafting and Tempering Strategy
The best time to equip the Necklace of Peerless Smithing is right before using a workbench or grindstone. If paired with a strong potion of Fortify Smithing and other enchanted items, it ensures the greatest possible improvement to the gear. Here’s an effective process:
- Equip the Necklace of Peerless Smithing along with other Fortify Smithing gear.
- Drink a Fortify Smithing potion (crafted or purchased).
- Use a grindstone for weapons or a workbench for armor.
- Upgrade each item to its maximum quality, often resulting in Legendary gear with superior stats.
This method is commonly used by min-maxers who want to push their damage output or defense stats beyond standard limits.
Alternative Methods to Boost Smithing
Custom Enchantments
If you’re unable to locate a Necklace of Peerless Smithing in the wild, creating your own version is a reliable solution. To do this, you’ll need:
- A necklace or amulet with no enchantments
- A filled Grand Soul Gem
- Access to an Arcane Enchanter
- The Fortify Smithing enchantment (learned from disenchanting similar gear)
With 100 Enchanting skill and perks like Insightful Enchanter or using a potion of Fortify Enchanting, you can create a custom necklace that matches or even surpasses the +25% bonus of the Peerless variant. This gives players more control over their builds while still gaining the crafting advantage.
Best Characters and Builds for the Necklace
Crafting-Focused Characters
Characters that focus on blacksmithing, enchanting, and alchemy benefit the most from the Necklace of Peerless Smithing. Typical builds include:
- Stealth Assassins: Craft and enhance high-damage daggers for sneak attacks.
- Heavy Armor Warriors: Use the necklace to forge powerful armor sets and weapons for melee combat.
- Enchanter Alchemists: Combine all three crafting skills to create a feedback loop of ever-improving gear.
For players who enjoy roleplaying a smith or legendary artisan, the necklace also fits thematically and offers mechanical advantages that suit those playstyles perfectly.
Game Impact and Long-Term Use
Influence on Combat Effectiveness
Though it doesn’t offer direct combat bonuses like damage resistance or health regeneration, the Necklace of Peerless Smithing has a huge indirect impact. It lets players create gear with higher damage and protection values, which translates to easier battles, quicker kills, and greater survivability.
For players on higher difficulty settings like Master or Legendary, this bonus becomes essential. Enhanced gear can make the difference between surviving a dragon encounter and being instantly overwhelmed. This also means the necklace has long-term value, not just during early or mid-game.
Economic Advantages
Items improved with a strong Smithing bonus sell for significantly more gold. This makes the Necklace of Peerless Smithing valuable for players looking to make money through crafting. Forge and enhance expensive weapons or armor, then sell them to merchants for substantial profit.
Pair this with the Speech skill or perks that increase selling prices, and the necklace becomes part of a profitable crafting and trading routine.
The Necklace of Peerless Smithing is an essential item for players who want to fully invest in Skyrim’s deep crafting system. Whether you’re chasing legendary weapons, perfect armor sets, or just trying to push your character’s effectiveness to the highest level, this enchanted necklace plays a key role. Its 25% boost to Smithing can mean the difference between good gear and truly game-changing equipment. Combined with other buffs, it opens the door to limitless crafting potential. Whether found in a high-level dungeon or crafted through enchanting mastery, it remains a cornerstone item for any serious blacksmith in Skyrim.