Quick Specs
- Type: Cord bracelet with an eye bead
- Eye bead: Flat round disc in deep blue with a white ring and a black pupil
- Cord: Red, worked into woven knot sections
- Beads: 4 round gold-toned beads: one on each side of the eye and one at the end of each cord tail
- Closure: Woven knot cluster with two cord tails
One Blue Eye on a Red Knotted Cord
The eye bead sits at the center of the bracelet, a flat round disc in translucent deep blue with a white ring and a black pupil. A round gold-toned bead rests on each side of it, so the disc is framed by two small points of shine. Red cord runs outward from those beads in both directions, worked into short sections of woven knots that look like tiny braids, and a larger cluster of knots sits at the top of the loop. Two cord tails hang from that cluster, each ending in a gold-toned bead the same size as the pair beside the eye. The palette is three colors: red for the cord, blue for the eye and gold tone for the beads. The red is saturated and glossy, which lets the blue disc read as the darkest point on the strand, and the gold tone ties the cord and the eye together. With one eye and four small beads, the bracelet stays light, and the knotted sections give the cord texture without adding bulk. Everything on the strand is small, so the blue eye reads as one clear mark at the wrist.
The eye belongs to the evil eye belief, the idea of a curse brought about by a malevolent glare, usually inspired by envy. Wikipedia finds the belief in many cultures across the Mediterranean region, the Balkans, West, Central and South Asia, Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America. The Science Museum Group calls it culturally very widespread with a long history, and lists glass eye beads, known as nazars, among the commonest amulets against it. In Turkey the eye bead is called nazar boncuğu, and in Greece it is called mati. Wikipedia describes the nazar as most frequently seen in Turkey, found in or on houses and vehicles or worn as beads. Traditional nazar beads are handmade glass in concentric circles of dark blue, white, light blue and black, and the disc on this bracelet carries three of those colors: deep blue, white and black. My Jewish Learning notes that red and blue are both said to thwart the evil eye, and this bracelet carries both. A bead on a cord is one of the simplest ways to wear the amulet, since the museum catalogue says such amulets are worn or carried.
Practical Ways to Wear It
Wear it alone for a single spot of blue at the wrist, or stack it with other bracelets so the red cord shows between beads and stones. Red and blue go easily with denim, black and white clothing, and the gold-toned beads sit comfortably beside gold jewelry. A bracelet this slim also makes a small gift for a friend who is moving, starting a new job or heading out on a trip, since it is ready to wear the moment it arrives. Between wearings, loop it over a doorknob, a mirror corner or a hook near the door so the eye is the first thing you see on the way out. For other pieces to wear on the wrist, see my bracelets and anklets collection.
How to Put On and Look After the Red Cord Bracelet
Three steps cover checking the cord, setting the fit and storing the bracelet.
- Check the Knots and Beads
Lay the bracelet flat and look at the woven knot sections, the knot cluster at the top and the beads at the ends of the tails. Give each gold-toned bead a light tug and run the cord through your fingers to feel for fraying. The eye disc and the beads are small, so a quick look before each wearing catches a loose bead early.
- Set the Fit
Slip your hand through the loop and settle the bracelet where you want it on your wrist. Pull the two tails in opposite directions to tighten the loop, and ease the knot cluster to loosen it. Leave enough room for the eye disc to turn to the top of your wrist, where you can see it, and adjust whenever the fit changes.
- Wipe and Store
Wipe the eye disc and the gold-toned beads with a soft dry cloth when they pick up fingerprints or lint. Between wearings, lay the bracelet flat or hang it from a hook so the knots stay loose and the cord keeps its shape. A small pouch keeps it from catching on other jewelry in a drawer or a travel bag.
The Tarot Fellow Standard
I stock this bracelet for the pairing it makes: one eye bead and one red cord, two separate folk customs on a slim band. The nazar belongs to Turkey, Greece and many neighboring cultures, the red string is a Jewish folk custom, and each carries meaning for the people who keep it. As a bracelet it is a decorative charm that points toward them, a reference and never a substitute for community, teachers or practice. If either custom is part of your family’s tradition, follow the way you were taught to give, wear and replace it. If both are new to you, read how the communities that keep them describe them before you settle on what the eye means for you. For more pieces that carry the eye, see my evil eye collection.
Frequently Asked Questions
The Science Museum Group says amulets against the evil eye are worn or carried and share an eye-shaped design, so a bracelet is one wearable form. Wikipedia notes that in Mexico and Central America infants are often given an amulet bracelet, typically with an eye-like spot painted on it. A cord bracelet like this one is a modern decorative piece that refers to those customs, and families keep their own practices.
Red has its own place in evil eye customs. Wikipedia describes wearing a thin red string on the wrist as a Jewish folk custom against misfortune attributed to the evil eye, and says Hindu and Chinese cultures also wear a red string for luck and to ward off evil. An Aish article calls red strings a popular symbol of Jewish identity and says the custom goes back generations. Wikipedia adds that in parts of South America a red ribbon is attached to a baby, an animal or an object to draw the gaze away.
A University of Kansas page and Wikipedia both describe a typical nazar as handmade glass featuring concentric circles or teardrop shapes in dark blue, white, light blue and black, occasionally with a yellow or gold edge. Both quote a description of the bead as a mixture of molten glass, iron, copper, water and salt, ingredients thought to shield people from evil.
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