Fortune comes in different forms.
According to Greek custom, on New Year's Eve, family and friends gather around the festive table, sharing traditional sweets like the Vasilopita, a traditional pie dedicated to Saint Vasileios the Great.
Despite its appearance, this is no ordinary pie: in its delicious dough is, in fact, hidden a metal coin, called flouri, waiting to be discovered by only one of the guests. The custom dictates that whoever finds the flouri, will have good luck throughout the year.
In popular tradition, vasilopita is associated with a legend of Basil of Caesarea. According to one story, Basil called on the Roman citizens of Caesarea to raise a ransom payment to stop the siege of the city. Each member of the city gave whatever they had in gold and jewelry.
When the ransom was raised, the enemy was so embarrassed by the act of collective giving that he called off the siege without collecting payment. Basil was then tasked with returning the unpaid ransom, but had no way to know which items belonged to which family so he baked all of the jewellery into loaves of bread and distributed the loaves to the city, and by a miracle each citizen received their exact share.
To mark our newly established brand Granes as well as the beginning of the year we are introducing a charm that celebrates the long-established tradition of flouri.
The design of the coin -that can be worn as a necklace, keychain, pendant etc.- is a clear reference to antique symbols and shapes found in coins and medallions depicted in Greek silversmithing tradition.