Long before jewellery became a marker of luxury, it served as a form of protection and power. Across civilisations, crafted metals and precious stones signalled social standing and spiritual belief. A pendant could safeguard, a motif could convey faith, a gemstone could embody hope. What is now recognised as aesthetic design often began as a tool of lineage or personal assertion. In the Victorian era, mourning brooches set with jet or onyx preserved memory and lineage in wearable form. In the Middle East and North Africa, the Hamsa hand — a palm-shaped amulet often decorated with gold and gemstones — warded off negative energy. These symbols were coded with meaning and adorned with beliefs in mind.
Today, luxury maisons continue this tradition by refining symbolism into enduring design codes. Motifs of clovers, stars, gourds and the infinity loop recur across collections as permanent signatures of brand identity. Within this framework, luck is worn as a statement of intent. For International Women’s Day, LUXUO highlights how these charms and symbols continue to accompany women, linking centuries of tradition to contemporary expressions of luck, reflecting their aspirations and the power they claim in shaping their own destinie
Dior Rose des Vents and Étoile des Vents
Conceived in 2015 under the direction of Victoire de Castellane, Rose des Vents remains one of Dior Joaillerie’s most enduring fine jewellery narratives. The collection draws its origin from the mosaic compass rose in the garden of Christian Dior’s childhood home in Granville, Les Rhumbs. That star, which the couturier regarded as a guiding sign, has since evolved into a recurring emblem within the House’s jewellery vocabulary. The Étoile des Vents chapter extends this lineage with white gold creations set with the eight-pointed lucky star. The shift into white gold introduces a cooler luminosity, while diamonds punctuate the compass motif. Necklaces and bracelets in rose gold and white gold establish a dialogue between Rose des Vents and Étoile des Vents, linking the original medallion to its celestial reinterpretation.
The collection sees long necklaces gather together charms that recur throughout Dior’s symbolic universe — lily of the valley, hearts, roses, skulls, ivy and bees — each element rooted in personal superstition and House mythology. Suspended along a single chain that act as narrative markers, echoing Monsieur Dior’s belief in signs and destiny. For Dior, the Étoile des Vents extends the House’s narrative through wind rose and celestial motifs. These pieces evoke the idea of navigating one’s life journey, echoing Christian Dior’s own star-crossed inspiration for founding the Maison. The compass rose and lucky star suggest navigation rather than chance. They propose direction, self-determination and the quiet assertion of one’s own bearings.
CHANEL’s CHANCE de CHANEL
“Luck is a way of being,” the late Gabrielle Chanel famously asserted, positioning fortune as a philosophy that underpins CHANCE de CHANEL — a fine jewellery proposition conceived as a modern talisman. The collection comprises two reversible medallions — dubbed SYMBOLES and TALISMANS — each stamped with emblems drawn from Chanel’s personal lexicon and signed with Gabrielle Chanel’s handwritten signature. Designed to be worn on both sides, the medals reflect her belief that the visible and the invisible should be considered with equal rigour.
The TALISMANS medal, shaped with irregular edges reminiscent of an antique coin, gathers three symbols closely associated with Chanel’s own superstition: the Ear of Wheat for prosperity, the number 5 as her lucky numeral and the Comet, long understood within the House as a guiding star. Two diamonds — totalling 0.15 carats — punctuate the composition while alternating matte and polished finishes add to the play of light. On the reverse, her signature appears beneath a diamond-set star.
The SYMBOLES medal adopts a more graphic structure. Set against a plaque of untreated black jade framed in gold and edged with 74 diamonds, it brings together five of the House’s most enduring motifs: the Comet, first seen in the 1932 Bijoux de Diamants collection; the Camellia; the Lion, reflecting Chanel’s astrological sign; the Ear of Wheat and the number 5. The reverse features a laser-engraved bas-relief repeating ‘CHANEL’, centred with a 0.10 carat diamond — a technique borrowed from watchmaking. Both medals are suspended from adjustable chains, encouraging layering with existing collections including Coco Crush, N°5, Camélia, Comète and Ruban.
Van Cleef & Arpels’ Alhambra
“To be lucky, you have to believe in luck,” as Jacques Arpels – Estelle Arpels’ nephew – used to say. Luck is a quality that the Maison holds dear, guiding its footsteps and inspiring some of its most emblematic creations. Case in point, the Alhambra. Created in 1968, the Alhambra remains one of Van Cleef & Arpels’ most recognisable expressions of luck. Inspired by the four-leaf clover, the motif formalised a belief long held within the House: that luck favours those who recognise and cultivate it. Jacques Arpels was known to collect clovers and gift them as tokens of encouragement. The first Alhambra long necklace — composed of twenty creased gold motifs edged with delicate beading — transformed a folkloric emblem into a refined design code. Its success established the clover as a permanent marker of harmony and benevolent fortune within the Maison’s visual identity.
Recent iterations reaffirm that talismanic intent. Grey mother-of-pearl in pink gold introduces a soft iridescence associated with protection and gentleness, while onyx set in white gold sharpens the motif with graphic contrast. Limited editions in lapis lazuli and rock crystal extend the narrative of celestial depth and clarity, materials historically linked to royalty and spiritual insight. More than five decades on, Alhambra’s endurance lies in its constancy. The beaded contour, the central golden bead, the disciplined symmetry — each detail underscores how the notion of luck can be distilled into a signature form.
Qeelin Wulu Petite Pearl
Few contemporary fine jewellery houses embed the concept of luck as intrinsically as Qeelin. At the centre of its design language stands Wulu, the stylised gourd that has become the brand’s most recognisable emblem. In Chinese culture, the gourd is a longstanding symbol of protection, prosperity and positive energy, historically believed to absorb negative forces while safeguarding the wearer. Qeelin translates this auspicious form into a modern reinterpretation rendered in jade, pavé diamonds, coloured gemstones and — more recently — luminous Akoya pearls framed in gold. The use of pearl introduces an additional layer of meaning, traditionally associated with wisdom and serenity, softening the sculptural outline without diminishing the symbolic nature of the gourd.
Unlike seasonal motifs that surface and recede, the Wulu functions as a permanent design code for Qeelin. Its repetition across pendants, earrings and necklaces reinforces the idea of continuity and how luck is not seen as simply fleeting but as something to be cultivated. In line with International Women’s Day, the gourd forms an emblem of resilience and protection, refined to include the pearl, a jewel that carries forward centuries of belief.
Pomellato Pom Pom Dot
The button has long carried layered meanings. Traditionally associated with protection, it was believed to guard the wearer, its placement at garment closures symbolically safeguarding what lies beneath. At the same time, a button fastens and binds, representing connection and attachment. With the Pom Pom Dot, Pomellato revisits a motif rooted in its own history — a button-inspired gold necklace first created in 1974 — and reframes it as a contemporary symbol of luck. The circular disc, once a functional fastening, becomes a reminder of connection and continuity woven into one’s daily life. The Pom Pom Dot’s defining gesture is its reversibility. Each pendant or bracelet flips to reveal a second stone, allowing the wearer to choose between two energies in a single jewel. Malachite paired with mother of pearl offers a dialogue between hope and protection; diamond and mother of pearl balance courage with emotional equilibrium; grey and white mother of pearl reflect patience and clarity. With a simple turn, intention shifts.
The Pom Pom Dot approaches the notion of luck with the symbolism of the button with the material meaning of the stone it is set with. For example, Malachite has long been associated with harmony and renewal, diamonds with strength and resilience alongside mother of pearl with protection and well-being. The tactile rose gold disc, threaded through with a line of gold and, on one side, diamonds, reinforces the idea of duality — the visible and the private. The multifaceted nature of the Pom Pom Dot reads as a modern expression of self-determined fortune where jewel and symbol are deliberately aligned.
MIKIMOTO Double Eight Collection
MIKIMOTO’s Double Eight (88) Collection draws on the longstanding cultural significance of the number eight in Eastern tradition, where it is celebrated as a symbol of prosperity and balance. At the heart of the collection is a long necklace composed of eighty-eight hand-selected Akoya cultured pearls, each measuring between 8.00 and 8.80 mm. Every pearl is chosen for its depth of lustre and harmonious proportions, creating a necklace that is as precise in its craftsmanship as it is rich in symbolism.
The pearls are joined by a versatile 18K white gold clasp, allowing the piece to be styled in multiple ways, translating tradition into contemporary expression. The design concept draws a subtle connection between the auspicious number eight, the infinity symbol and the pursuit of wholeness. In doing so, the Double Eight Collection embodies a marriage of heritage and modernity, offering a talismanic form that celebrates continuity.
Fred Chance Infinie Collection
Following MIKIMOTO’s Double Eight necklace, which celebrates continuity and prosperity through the auspicious number eight, Fred’s Chance Infinie collection offers a more personal and poetic interpretation of the motif. The collection reimagines the sideways “8” as an eternal emblem of happiness and luck. In its latest iteration, the motif takes the form of a delicate, ethereal bow, with ribbons that appear softly untied. This subtle gesture of movement brings the symbol to life, infusing it with lightness and an unmistakably feminine energy. The design celebrates both the continuity of tradition and the wearer’s own agency, turning a familiar emblem into a declaration of personal intention.
Chopard’s Happy Diamonds Good Luck Charms
Chopard’s Good Luck Charms pendants extend the Maison’s legacy by combining its renowned kinetic design with a deeply symbolic narrative. Drawing on protective motifs such as the Hand of Fatima (Hamsa), each pendant reinterprets a traditional emblem of fortune for the modern wearer. The dancing diamonds animate the talisman, giving it movement and life, while transforming jewellery into a miniature amulet that embodies intention. In this way, the pieces offer a playful expression of luck, turning a centuries-old symbol into a contemporary statement of empowerment. They are as much a reflection of Chopard’s history — rooted in social change and women’s evolving independence — as they are a celebration of contemporary craftsmanship. Through these pieces, the Maison continues to demonstrate how fine jewellery can carry cultural resonance, giving traditional symbols a new, tangible relevance for today’s wearer.
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