Single Black Bead Payal with Ghungroo Ends

Payal is simply the Hindi word for an anklet, and in most of India it is still the first piece of jewellery a girl is given and the last an older woman takes off. It is worn as a pair, one on each ankle, and traditionally it was meant to be heard as much as seen — the sound announced that someone was coming, which in a joint household was a courtesy rather than a performance.

What you are looking at

A single flat black bead sits at the centre of this anklet, slightly oval rather than round so it lies against the ankle instead of standing proud of it. Two fine coiled spacers hold it in place, the chain either side is a smooth snake chain, and at each end by the hook hangs a small cluster of ghungroo bells.

Styling it

Black beads worn on the body are an old and quiet Indian habit. The reasoning is the same as the blue nazar — a dark bead is held to absorb or deflect an envious look — but the expression is far less visible, which is why it has outlasted more conspicuous charms. It is tied on infants as a nazariya almost from birth, worn by married women in a mangalsutra, and kept up at the ankle without anyone much remarking on it.

The flat bead is the detail worth noticing. A round bead on an anklet rolls, catches on a sock and sits at a different angle every time; a flat one keeps its face forward and lies closer to the skin. On a piece meant to be worn daily that is a real difference, not a cosmetic one.

Fit

At 10 inches this sits snug rather than loose. The bells are at the back, so the piece is heard rather than seen from the front.

Materials

German silver is the trade name for a bright white alloy of copper, nickel and zinc. It contains no silver at all. What it does have is a hard, cool-toned surface that takes an oxidised finish well and resists scratching better than plated brass, which is why almost every everyday Indian anklet is made to look like it.

This is the most discreet anklet in the range after the plain thread one. It goes under trousers without a trace, it suits an office, and it is the one to buy if you want the habit without the jewellery announcing itself.

A note on wearing a pair rather than one. Single anklets have become common and there is nothing wrong with wearing one, but a pair sits differently: the two sounds fall slightly out of step as you walk, which is what produces the soft irregular jingle people associate with payal rather than a single repeating note.

Care

An anklet lives a harder life than any other piece of jewellery. It meets shoes, floors, door frames and bedsheets, and it is the piece most likely to be worn into the shower because taking it off is a nuisance. Water is what dulls an oxidised finish fastest, so slip it off before bathing where you can. A dry soft cloth is the whole cleaning routine — never a silver polish or a dip, which strip the blackening the design depends on.