From evil-eye amulets to four-leaf clovers, talismans have been a source of strength, protection, and good luck for thousands of years. Lucky charms are also nostalgic reminders of our childhoods, abundant with fictional heroes on brave conquests trying to salvage amulets with mystical powers. Over time, jewellery designers at luxury brands have successfully weaved house signatures and key motifs into everyday jewellery items, giving them a lucky charm-like quality. However, few houses can lay claim to a history as rich as that of Dior whose archival references are steeped in Monsieur Dior’s notoriously superstitious tendencies. This storied legacy provides the perfect inspiration for Dior Joaillerie creative director Victoire de Castellane’s latest Rose des Vents fine jewellery line. “Creating is about searching, turning things over, and then finding one’s cardinal point and setting off on a journey. Creation is the product of a stationary voyage.”, explains Victoire. One only needs to scroll through her Instagram account to appreciate her unusual creative process, which often starts with her naively charming felt tip drawings, depicting her in imaginary continual dialogue with Monsieur Dior.

Her latest collection, which was fuelled by her inspirations and illustrations, saw the artisan jeweller physically creating the jewellery. Hand cutting the designs from malleable green resin, she then employed an age-old lost wax technique, ultimately replacing the wax with gold and reworking it to redefine the jewel’s details. A neat encapsulation of multiple historical references, Rose des Vents is a juxtaposition of our youthful fascination with lucky charms and the Maison’s signature symbol for good fortune, the eight-pointed star – a culmination of Monsieur Dior’s lucky number, eight, and his star shaped lucky charm. Dior was first introduced to the star symbol in mosaic form as a young boy at the bottom of the swimming pool at his childhood seaside home in Granville. Roses that filled the gardens in the same home went on to become an enduring symbol for the house of Dior. Years later it was the chance finding of a star on the streets of Paris that cemented his fascination with the symbol, leading him to have it on his person at all times and eventually to the founding of the eponymous fashion house. The iconic Rose des Vents collection has now been enriched with new pieces.

In a campaign fronted by the perfectly cast and ever-betwitching Cara Delevingne, Victoire has artistically layered history and relevance into the relatively tiny spaces of her jewels. As she reminds us, “What is more allegorical than a medallion? Behind the idea of travel, specific to the wind rose, whose pattern appeared on the floor in the villa at Granville, we can discover not only Christian Dior’s star and the notion of a lucky charm, but also the rose, his favorite flower. All of Dior’s history is implicitly here.” Paying homage to Monsieur Dior’s passion for divinatory art she has re-interpreted the emblematic Dior gold and diamond star appearing in the design of the wind rose. Bracelets and necklaces in yellow or rose gold are set with diamonds, while white gold medallions are delicately pavéd. Different variations of necklaces, set with mother-of-pearl or coloured stones, also make an appearance, embellishing the eight-pointed lucky star. Intended to be part of your everyday jewellery collection, the pieces are available in a myriad of hues which run the gamut from lapiz lazuli to vibrant malachite, pink opal, and beyond, manifesting as emblems of modernity in a world looking for meaning.

Discover the secrets behind the making of the Rose des Vents collection, in the private world of the jewellery ateliers.