Black Evil Eye Spiral Charm Anklet

Nazar beads have been made in more or less this shape for a very long time, and the reasoning behind them has never needed explaining in India. Two of them sit on this black bead anklet, blue and white against a strand of faceted black glass, with a small silver-tone spiral charm hanging alongside.

The beads are glass, faceted rather than smooth, so they catch light in small hard points as the foot moves. Black is an unusual colour for an anklet and a useful one. It reads as jewellery rather than as tradition, and it goes with clothes a plain silver payal would look odd against.

Two anklets come in the set. A lobster clasp with an extension chain closes each one, so they adjust across a range of ankle sizes rather than needing to be exact.

The findings are silver-plated, which is the part that needs looking after. Glass beads are indifferent to water. Plated clasps and charms are not, so these come off before a bath like everything else in the box.

The question of whether it works is not one a product page can settle. What it does do is put a bit of blue at the ankle, which has been reason enough for a long time.