Iconic: Miu Miu 2004 Shell Necklace

Remembering a beacon of Miu Miu’s early runway jewelry: Miu Miu’s giant shell necklace from spring 2004.

There is nothing quite like old Miu Miu jewelry. In fact, almost any piece of jewelry from Miu Miu pre 2017 is explicitly weird, divinely maximalist and intrinsically feminine: all core values of Miu Miu since its inception. But the Miu Miu 2004 shell necklace? Simply iconic in more ways than one.

This necklace was at the forefront of the Miu Miu fall 2004 collection, styled on the first two looks with autumnal hues. Think: cozy, tweed coat dresses with gloriously big buttons and thick belts as accompanying accoutrements. The necklace reappeared again and again throughout the show, standing in as the one piece of jewelry that tied everything together.

It added an odd sense of eccentricity; so supersized and dramatic against a palette of warm leathers, grandpa cardigan sweaters, sheer painterly bohemian dresses and yes, those coats! The shell necklace brought warmth and realness to the collection. “Ninety-nine percent of this collection, though, was totally liveable, mixable fashion—testament to Miuccia Prada’s commercial intelligence, as well as her storied talent,” Sarah Mower wrote for Vogue at the time. On the runway, the shell necklace was styled with its convex, speckled side facing up. It’s a stark contrast to how we see most of the vintage Miu Miu shell necklaces styled on the secondhand market today, but it’s also perfectly Miu Miu. So unexpected and chic, at first glance maybe one doesn’t even recognize it as a shell. It becomes an almost-talisman.

Luckily, the iconic Miu Miu 2004 Shell Necklace was indeed produced. It’s not hard to find on the secondhand market. (See here and a two-for-one deal here.) Here’s what makes it stand out: Its massive scale, porcelain-like texture (it’s not a real shell, after all, but a ceramic piece) and the beautiful little silk velvet cord, which came in shades of mustard yellow, dark purple and fuchsia toned red. The length is bold, not a choker or a longer sautoir, but centered, smack dab in the middle of one’s chest.

Shell jewelry and corded necklaces are some of the biggest jewelry trends of summer 2025, and the Miu Miu 2004 Shell Necklace is a lasting piece of fashion history that we can’t get enough of.