Evil Eye Payal with Single Nazar Bead

At the centre of this anklet sits a single nazar bead — the blue glass eye worn across Turkey, Greece, West Asia and now most of India as a guard against the evil eye. The belief is old and widely shared: that envy carries weight, and that a blue eye returns the look. Whether or not you hold with it, the object has become a small everyday charm rather than a serious amulet, which is why it turns up on anklets, prams and car mirrors alike.

What you are looking at

The bead is deep cobalt with a white and pale-blue eye, and it is held between two coiled silver-tone spacers that both centre it on the chain and stop it sliding. Either side runs a fine snake chain — close-coiled, round in section, with no visible links, so it lies flat and smooth against the ankle.

In practice

One bead rather than several is the whole point of this version. It is small enough to disappear under a trouser hem and specific enough to be noticed when it shows, which makes it the easiest evil-eye anklet in the range to wear with Western clothes as well as Indian ones.

Fit

No sizing required: the band is open at the back and flexes to fit. Set it gently the first time you wear it rather than adjusting it on every outing.

Materials and care

It is plated brass: a gold-tone finish over a brass body, the standard construction for Indian costume jewellery and the reason a piece this size is affordable.

The photographs on this page are of the piece itself under ordinary light rather than a studio set-up, so what you see is close to what arrives. Screens do shift colour, golds especially, so if an exact shade matters to you, ask on the enquiry and we will describe it against something familiar.

These arrive in small runs. When a colour sells through it is usually gone rather than reordered, because the supplier moves on to the next design. That is why availability is confirmed by hand before an order is taken rather than promised by a stock counter.

If you are building a set, the pieces in this collection share a finish and a gold tone, so a necklace and a pair of earrings bought separately will match on the body. That is not something you can rely on across different brands, where one plating can be visibly cooler than another.

Delivery runs two to five working days within India from the day the order is dispatched, and five to twelve working days for international orders; Sundays are not counted. Returns follow the policy published on this site. Returns follow the policy published on this site; tell us on arrival if anything is wrong and we will sort it out.

Keep it away from water, perfume and hair spray, and put it on after you have finished dressing rather than before. A dry cotton cloth after wearing, and a closed pouch rather than an open drawer, is the whole routine. Keyura takes prepaid payment only, with no cash-on-delivery anywhere on the site.