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| Naomi Campbell |
You
may remember Naomi Campbell’s choice of outfit when she appeared before the war
crimes tribunal of former Liberian president Charles Taylor to talk about blood
diamonds. One of the things that I remember caught everyone’s attention – or at
least journalists and trend-watchers - was her necklace, a silver eye-shaped
pendant.
The
evil eye (or in Italian
‘malocchio’) is a look that is believed by many cultures to be able to cause
injury or bad luck for the person at whom it is directed for reasons of envy or
dislike.
It’s
no coincidence that for the occasion, superstitious Naomi chose this talisman
for protection against the evil eye. Eye-shaped symbols are worn to deflect any
negative energy directed at the wearer.
Historically,
even in Sardinia these charms were worn to ward off the curse of the evil eye. A
common piece of the Sardinian traditional jewellery is the ‘sabeggia’, a black obsidian stone encapsulated inside of a filigree silver
circle. This was normally used as a preventive measure against the evil eye for
the newborn. I remember my grandmother once told me that the parents used to
hide it in the cradle of the newborn.
All the more reasons to be superstitious – well I don’t know but
do know that some of these anti evil eye pieces of jewellery are quite stylish!
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| buttonera pearl necklace with 'sabeggia' - www.buttonera.com |
