Baubles

You can spend more than you are comfortable with on a pair of shoes and still only like them for six months. But spend the same amount on a piece of real jewellery and it will probably continue to have emotional resonance for you way beyond its fashionability expiration date.

Add to that a built-in talismanic quality, and you may never get rid of the thing. Which is why the woven 18ct gold and silk Lucky bracelets by Carolina Bucci (020- 7402 8799; www.carolinabucci.com) are selling like the clappers. These pretty little bits of nothing are the grown-up version of those dingy scraps of thread known as friendship bracelets.

Although the idea is simple, the workmanship is impressive. Carolina adapted an antique Florentine fabric loom to weave minutely fine gold chain with silk, and the result is a collection of deliciously supple jewellery, the cornerstone of which is the Lucky bracelet. It is available in 12 colours, each with a tiny gold charm, all representing different things: for example, pink silk and a flower charm signifies friendship, pale-blue silk with a crescent moon wisdom, and green silk with a dollar sign money. This may sound like another twinky jewellery trend, but the craze for these bracelets has tipped beyond all expectation. Why? Because of the price (£195 is a bargain when Bucci’s serious pieces go up to £3,500), they make great presents, and you can collect all 12 colours. Simple, really.