Monday 3 October 2011

When being superstitious is synonymous with stylish


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! 


buttonera pearl necklace with  'sabeggia' - www.buttonera.com

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