The Maltese cross is an eight-pointed cross formed by four arrowhead-shaped arms meeting at a central point, the eight tips representing — in the symbolism developed by the Knights Hospitaller of Saint John of Jerusalem — the eight beatitudes or the eight obligations of the order. Adopted formally by the Knights during their earlier period at Rhodes, the eight-pointed cross continued in use after their relocation to Malta in 1530., it has appeared continuously in jewellery for nearly five centuries, traversing devotional, military, heraldic and ornamental contexts.

Origins among the Hospitallers

The cross now associated with Malta evolved from earlier crosses used by the Knights of Saint John during their tenure in the Holy Land and at Rhodes. Its eight-point form became standardised in the sixteenth century after the Knights established their headquarters at Valletta. Insignia of the Order included gold and enamel pendants worn on a black silk ribbon, often paired with the white linen habit or cappa. Surviving sixteenth- and seventeenth-century examples in the collections of the Palace Armoury in Valletta and the British Museum show champlevé and basse-taille white enamel over gold, sometimes set with small rubies or rose-cut diamonds at the tips.

Explore our ruby collection — hand-selected and GIA-certified, in Toronto, Canada.

Eighteenth and nineteenth century revivals

After the dissolution of the Order's temporal power in 1798 and its reorganisation in the nineteenth century, the cross was adopted for orders of merit in several European states — the Bavarian Order of Saint George (which uses its own cross form), the Prussian Pour le Mérite (a blue cross, not Maltese), and various Italian and Spanish honours. Civilian jewellers picked up the form simultaneously. By the mid-nineteenth century, French and Italian goldsmiths were producing Maltese-cross brooches, pendants and earrings in gold and enamel, often set with seed pearls or small diamonds, for fashionable ladies who had no formal connection to the Order. The motif was favoured for mourning jewellery in jet and onyx, where its solemn symmetry suited the mood of Victorian commemoration.

Twentieth century: high jewellery and the Verdura signature

The most famous twentieth-century deployment of the Maltese-cross form is undoubtedly the bangles created by Fulco di Verdura for Coco Chanel in the 1930s. Verdura, a Sicilian aristocrat working as Chanel's jewellery designer in Paris, designed wide white-enamel cuffs centred on bold Maltese crosses set with cabochon coloured stones — emeralds, rubies, sapphires, amethysts and citrines — embedded into the enamel ground. Photographs of Chanel wearing one cuff on each wrist, taken by Roger Schall in 1937, became one of the defining images of twentieth-century jewellery and established the Maltese cross as a Verdura house signature that survives in the firm's New York atelier today. Period magazine archives at Vogue and Harper's Bazaar document the immediate impact of the design on Parisian and New York fashion.

Pick an emerald and let us create your custom pendant — designed and made in Toronto, Canada since 1967.

Other notable interpretations

Beyond Verdura, the form appears across the high-jewellery tradition. Cartier produced Maltese-cross brooches in the Art Deco period, notably in onyx, coral and diamond combinations. Buccellati has used the cross in textured gold and engraved enamel. Bulgari and David Webb have both produced cuffs and pendants drawing on the Verdura precedent. Religious jewellers continue to produce Maltese-cross pendants for present-day members of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the Most Venerable Order of Saint John, the latter associated with St John Ambulance.

Found your sapphire? Our Toronto, Canada atelier will set it in an engagement ring made just for you.

Construction and identification

The proportions of a true Maltese cross are precise: each of the four arms is an isosceles triangle whose apex meets the centre and whose base forms two outer points, creating eight tips total. Looser interpretations exist, particularly in costume jewellery, but a careful jeweller maintains the geometry. Period pieces are most often gold with enamel, with stone-set examples being rarer and more valuable. Modern reproductions in silver-tone base metal abound; antique-grade examples should be evaluated for the quality of the enamel work, the fineness of the gold, and provenance to a recognised maker. The Skyjems view is that the form rewards close inspection — the cross looks simple but bad proportions are immediately apparent to a trained eye.