Evil eye bead

Although many people think of it as a stone, the evil eye bead (Turkish “nazar boncuğu”) is not a natural stone but a handmade glass bead. Layers of white, light blue and black glass are added in concentric rings onto a dark blue glass body to make it look like an eye. The dark blue colour comes from metal compounds such as cobalt added to the glass. Eye-shaped glass beads have been used around the Mediterranean and the Middle East for thousands of years; in Türkiye the nazar is pinned to babies, hung on doors and in cars, and worn as jewellery against the “evil eye”. Traditional beads are still made by hand by a few craftsmen in the village of Görece and nearby Kurudere, in the Menderes district of İzmir.

Traditional amulet: It is pinned to babies’ clothes and cradles and hung at doors and house entrances, on car mirrors and in shops. Jewellery and decoration: It is used in necklaces, bracelets, earrings, key rings and wall decorations. Souvenir: It is one of Türkiye’s best-known souvenirs.

Its best-known localities: Görece, Menderes, İzmir, Türkiye.

Known localities in Türkiye: Görece, Menderes, İzmir, Türkiye.

Being glass, it feels cold and fairly heavy in the hand, and small air bubbles may be visible inside. Plastic imitations are light, feel warm and often show a mould seam. In handmade beads every eye is slightly different; the rings are not perfectly round and the glass layers stand slightly proud at the edge. Factory-made or printed ones are identical to one another. The hanging hole or wire loop was made with an iron rod while the glass was still hot, so its edges are rounded. Some evil eye beads on the market are mass-produced in plastic, resin or ceramic, or have the eye printed on the surface; they are not traditional handmade glass beads.

On the “street to diamond” value ladder it sits on step 2 of nine: Raw material by the tonne. The evil eye bead is an inexpensive ornament and souvenir. Handmade traditional glass beads are worth more than mass-produced plastic or printed ones; their value depends on the glassmaking skill, the brightness of the colours, the size and the craftsman’s labour. As fewer and fewer masters keep the tradition alive, handmade beads are becoming more special.

In Anatolia and around the Mediterranean, the bead is believed to protect its wearer by drawing upon itself the “evil eye” of envious or malicious looks; that is why it is pinned to babies and hung in new homes, cars and shops. According to folk belief, if the bead cracks or breaks, it has absorbed a very strong evil eye to protect its owner and should be replaced. Blue is believed to be a shield against evil. One explanation is that the belief arose because blue-eyed people, rare in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, were thought to cast the evil eye. Protection against the evil eye is not a claim science can test but a deep-rooted cultural belief, and the bead lives on as a harmless and much-loved tradition. A bead cracks because of internal stresses in the glass, temperature changes or knocks. An evil eye bead should never replace real safety precautions for babies and children; small beads can be a choking hazard if they end up in a baby’s mouth. This section reports beliefs; it is not health information. There is no scientific evidence for these claims and no stone replaces medical treatment.