Fortuna Bracelet
Quintessentially timeless in its design, this bracelet is notable for its gentle curves and strong presence. It swells gorgeously at the front, creating a soft crescendo effect that is as striking as it is sublime. This bracelet is inspired by an example found in the excavations of the luxury Roman villa at Oplontis, in the Bay of Naples, and dating to before AD 79.
"Fortuna" means "fortune" - as a divine personification, Fortuna represented luck and good fortune. She was also a goddess of fate, and as such, held incredible powers: her capriciousness and the chance involved with good fortune was never underestimated by the Romans: When she appeared in Roman art, Fortuna's attributes were often the Wheel of Fate (the Rota Fortunae), and a ship's rudder, but also a cornucopia, or horn of plenty.
The Augustan poet Ovid (43 BC - AD 17), who once wrote admiringly about the abilities of Fortuna "Virilis" to help women attract men, later wrote differently about the goddess. Once he had been exiled, never to return to Rome, he bitterly reflected on the “goddess who admits by her unsteady wheel her own fickleness; she always has its apex beneath her swaying foot.” - Ex Ponto IV, Ep. 3
But let us not forget that the goddess was thought to be persuaded to turn a kind eye to those embarking upon deserving and heroic acts, with the immortal words of Pliny the Elder, as he decided to bravely sail directly into the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in AD 79 in order to help others: "Fortes fortuna iuvat" ("Fortune helps the brave!"). - Pliny the Younger, Ep. VI.16
