Clover Necklace

Luck, and specifically the rarity of it — a four-leaf clover occurs roughly once in every five thousand. The four leaves are traditionally read as faith, hope, love and luck. It's also the Irish national emblem in its three-leaf form, the shamrock, which is a different plant symbol entirely.

Leaf count and meaning. A shamrock has three leaves and is a symbol of Ireland and, traditionally, the Trinity. A four-leaf clover is a luck charm with no national or religious association. These are four-leaf.

One of the better neutral gifts — no religion, no romantic implication, no name to spell wrong. It reads as "good luck" for a new job, an exam or a move, which makes it useful for occasions where jewelry usually feels like too much.

16 or 18 inches. Clover pendants are small and roughly square, so they sit well high on the chest. At 22 a dainty one disappears into a neckline. Use 14 or 16 as the top layer when stacking chains.

Easily — a clover is compact and symmetrical enough not to compete with a second pendant. Put it at 16 with something longer at 18 or 20. It pairs particularly well with an initial, since neither shape crowds the other.

Cut-outs have more edge per gram than solid pendants, and edges are where plating thins first. At 3.0 microns of gold over solid sterling silver — against an industry standard of 0.2 — that's years rather than months. Perfume and chlorine shorten it more than wear does.