KIMI WINS, BUT HIS TREASURE IS A GIFT FROM MUM!

The trophy is easy to spot. The necklace takes a closer look. Yet among the photographs of world champion Kimi Antonelli, one detail makes you want to pause: the tiny whale-tail pendant resting near his neck. He has worn it for years. Before the big magazine covers, before his Formula 1 debut, before his became the name everyone was shouting at the television.

His mum, Veronica, gave it to him during a holiday in Sardinia in 2019. One of those things that seems small, almost ordinary, at the time: you choose a pendant, give it to your son, and he puts it on. Then the years pass and that little piece of silver stays, while everything else gathers speed.

That gift arrived long before the championship

On 1 November 2026, third place in the Mexico City Grand Prix secured Antonelli the Formula 1 world title. At twenty, he became the youngest champion in the history of the category. Extraordinary numbers, especially when you try to imagine everything going through the mind of someone who was racing karts only a few years ago.

The necklace was already there. That is what makes the story so lovely: it was not chosen to celebrate the result. It accompanied him all the way there. Kimi has described it as a good-luck charm, keeping it even as training strengthened his neck and made the chain tighter. Affection works that way too: we keep wearing something that belonged to an earlier version of ourselves.

The charm has been identified as Giovanni Raspini’s Whale Tail: sterling silver, Italian craftsmanship and a €40 price tag. That is the price of the pendant, rather than a complete necklace. Its value to Kimi, of course, is not something you could read on a label.

Jewellery we choose without thinking about our outfit

Perhaps you have a necklace you almost never take off. A birthday ring, a little medal, a bracelet that is beginning to show its age. You know it does not match absolutely everything, but whenever you try leaving it at home, something feels missing.

These are the hardest accessories to explain when someone asks only where you bought them. The real answer would take longer: who gave them to you, where you were, what life was like then. Sometimes you even remember the little gift bag. Or the awkward way someone pressed it into your hand, pretending it was nothing much.

Kimi’s story makes you want to look in that part of your own jewellery box. Among the things you do not photograph to show off a new purchase, but search for with increasing alarm when they are not in their usual place. This is part of what makes style personal: some details have a story before they even have a colour.

A small necklace can still catch the eye

The lovely thing about a delicate pendant is that it asks for very little preparation. With a white shirt slightly open at the neck, just enough shows. With a crew-neck top, it can rest against the fabric or peek out above it, depending on the chain’s length. Even choosing a smooth knit instead of a busy texture changes the effect.

To let it stand out, try a simple background: navy, grey, chocolate or cream. Silver’s little reflection quickly finds its place. An open cardigan over a T-shirt frames it without needing three more necklaces. If your pendant is gold, try the same approach with a forest-green sweater or a pale-blue shirt.

There is no need to turn a cherished present into a styling exercise, though. If you like it alongside colourful earrings, wear it that way. If it is almost hidden under a roll-neck, it still belongs there. Sentimental accessories have that advantage: they do not need to pass the mirror test every morning to earn their place beside us.

What about when we are choosing the gift?

Observation helps more than searching for the perfect symbol. Does the recipient always wear short necklaces? Do they love silver? Do they prefer tiny objects or bold details? These are the things that make a present more likely to become part of everyday life, instead of staying boxed up for an occasion.

Then there is the note. Two lines written as you would actually speak: a memory of a trip, a wish, a phrase only the two of you understand. You do not have to give a symbol special powers to make it matter. Explaining why that particular person came to mind as you chose it is enough.

We will see plenty more trophies, suits, watches and cover photographs of Kimi. But that little whale tail already has a story of its own. In the middle of all that speed, it still recalls a seaside holiday and a present from Mum. You imagine Veronica having plenty to say when he came home after the championship. And probably a hug much bigger than any pendant.