Lalounis Archives - Insights Greece

Every year Greece’s top jewellery designers create gouria or lucky ornaments that we can hang from our neck or wear on our wrist as a symbol of hope, dreams coming true and protection for the new year.

With all that the world has been going through, we need now more than ever some beautiful symbolic jewellery to offer us an added sense of strength and grace. Here we have selected the best and most classic brands for you to consider as a gift to yourself or a loved one.

Lalaounis

An inspiration to marine biologists, deep-sea divers and artists alike and a symbol cherished since the Minoan times that represented healing properties, coral has resilience and vulnerability at once that’s reminiscent of the human spirit. And this particular amulet (€290) comes with the added bonus of supporting a worthwhile ecological initiative. Famous jewellers Lalaounis write on their website: “In the depths of the Greek Seas lie the oldest, most complex and productive marine ecosystems: Coralligenous Habitats. They are some of the least protected habitats and their survival today is at great risk. With our 2022 good luck pendant, we wish to support the ARCHIPELAGOS Institute of Marine Conservation in their work to protect the biodiversity of the NE Mediterranean and to halt the ongoing destruction of Coralligenous Habitats.”

Insights Greece - 2022 Be Good To Me! Best Greek Lucky Charms to Buy

Antonia Karra

Antonia Karra’s macrame bracelet (€39) is her good luck design for 2022, depicting an engraved compass to lead you on the right path and always help you find your way in the new year. On a more esoteric level, the design is also a reminder to always follow your inner guidance.

Acropolis Museum

Designer Kostas Dimpoulos has chosen a classic Greek symbol of good fortune, prosperity, abundance and fertility that can arrive with new beginnings. His gold-plated brass pendant (€32) sold at the Acropolis Museum is an engraved pomegranate with a red tassel hung just above it. The pomegranate, the star component of the Greek New Year tradition that involves smashing the fruit into the ground in one’s front entrance, makes for a very hopeful gift.

Katerina Psoma

Be A Poem cuff €138 playfully combines rock chic with art deco glamour, this gold-plated cuff with the ‘Be a Poem’ affirmation written on is a reminder to live your life as if you are a work of lyrical art. Psoma’s All Fine pendant (€155) is a hopeful reassurance after trying times and ahead of more uncertain days ahead that everything’s going to be just fine. Gold-plated and decorated with colourful zircon stones, it can be just the right amount of sparkle to wear on a dreary day.

Zolotas

Cosmos is a collection of charms based on the celestial bodies and their orbits, which includes pendants and bracelets decorated with precious stones. The famous jewellery house says that the use of stones was very symbolic, “reflecting the four elements of the world: Emerald and Opal for Water, Tiger’s Eye and Malachite for Earth, Sapphire, Lapis lazuli and Amethyst for Air, Ruby and Agate for Fire.” The Cosmos pendants (€35) are designed to light our new year up, bringing to 2022 fullness and harmony, balance and peace.

Cycladic Art Museum

This autumn/winter hosting the ‘Ancient Kallos’ exhibition dedicated to beauty in antiquity, the Cycladic Art Museum has chosen a mirrored pendant (€75) as its good luck charm for 2022. The handheld mini mirror is meant to represent self-reflection as well as self-love in the coming year and beyond.

Marina Vernicos

With a nudge to biker bravura, angelic blessings, love and freedom of the heart, designer Marina Vernicos’ stand-out necklace (€38) depicts the number 22 in the shape of a heart with wings.

Benaki

Designer Niki Orfanou made her amulet (€30) inspired by a painting by Nikos Hatzikiriakos Gikas depicting a Hydra landscape, created this handmade good luck charm out of brass and silk. The charm is reminiscent of ‘fylakto charms made in folk tradition around Greece out of threads and beads and is sold at the Benaki Museum shop. Also at the Benaki is the ‘Angel’ charm for 2022 (€60) designed by Savvas Dimou and inspired by the sculptural artwork by acclaimed artist Yiannis Tsarouchis.

Zeus + Dione

Zeus+Dione’s lucky charm, for the new year, depicts the power number ‘22’, which is said by numerologists to double the power of anything. The design is inspired by retro mailing stamps which feature waves under the number; in this case, the waves are meant to amplify the power of the number and augur good luck, change and determination to head forward confidently toward change.

9 Leading Greek Jewellery Designers You Need to Know

As we all wait for 2020 to come to an end and look forward to a more positive 2021, we take a look at some traditional good luck charms for the new year, created by Greece’s leading jewellers.

Known as Gouri in Greek, they are designed to protect and bring good luck to the person wearing it for the year ahead. As next year marks 200 years since the outbreak of the Greek Revolution of 1821 and the War of Independence, most designers have created pieces paying tribute to the special celebration.

Here we share some of our favourites, which can be ordered online!

Hermina Athens has designed a charm inspired by Hygieia, which in Greek mythology, was the goddess of health and cleanliness.

Kessaris, who has flagship stores in Athens and Mykonos, has created a Multicolor Feathers Necklace, which is combined with a gold chain to match.

Insights Greece - Our Favourite Good Luck Charms for 2021 — Hygieia by Hermina Athens

Ileana Makri has chosen an 18k gold plated round medallion, reminiscent of a casino chip, with three embossed lucky “7’s” as her key 2021 lucky charm.

Worn both as a chevaliere ring or as a loose pendant, the Knot Charm by Christina Soubli is a great addition to this season’s jewellery box.

Designed by Polina Ellis, this gold pendant was inspired by the sacred bird of Zeus, in celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Greek revolution for Independence, with the charm symbolising power and freedom.

Popular Greek jewellery brand Lalounis have chosen the Hercules’ knot, best known for its symbolism of strength and love, as their piece for 2021.

Leading lifestyle brand Zeus + Dione have conceived a charm depicting Nike, as a celebration of the bicentennial anniversary of the start of the Greek War of Independence in 1821. Nike, the ancient Greek goddess of victory, is seen holding an olive branch, the timeless symbol of peace.

The Museum of Cycladic designed a charm inspired by the flag of Filiki Eteria for 2021. The initials at the center of the wreath refer to the motto of the revolution Liberty or Death.

Athens Gouri Greece Greek jewellery Greek revolution Greek traditions Hermina Lalounis Mykonos Zeus + Dione

Your Curated Guide to Greece

2022 Be Good To Me! Best Greek Lucky Charms to Buy

Every year Greece’s top jewellery designers create gouria or lucky ornaments that we can hang from our neck or wear on our wrist as a symbol of hope, dreams coming true and protection for the new year.

Our Favourite Good Luck Charms for 2021

As we all wait for 2020 to come to an end and look forward to a more positive 2021, we take a look at some traditional good luck charms for the new year, created by Greece’s leading jewellers.

Your Curated Guide to Greece

Every year Greece’s top jewellery designers create gouria or lucky ornaments that we can hang from our neck or wear on our wrist as a symbol of hope, dreams coming true and protection for the new year.

As we all wait for 2020 to come to an end and look forward to a more positive 2021, we take a look at some traditional good luck charms for the new year, created by Greece’s leading jewellers.

The Athens Guide