Σάββατο 29 Ιουνίου 2013
This is a komboloi
A chain of beads, in a round or oval shape. At the top there is always a big bead also known as the priest. A real komboloi has beadsand is hand-made of natural material, mostly minerals, fossils, wood and even dried fruit. He always has an odd number of beads because then you will always have 1 bead in the middle for the balance.
Kombolois, and also the beads, have many different colors and sizes. The largest one I saw had a lenght of 120 centimteter and had beads with a diameter of a few inches. This komboloi was a few hundred years old and made of Red coral. I didn't dare to ask for the price.
In every tourist shop in Greece they sell "kombolois", but these cheap, plastic species are only created for the tourists as a souvenir.
The real Komboloi is always hand-made and if the beads are precious the komboloi has a certificate of authenticity. These real kombolois are only available in a komboloi-shop. Here you can discover many different kinds of kombolois and, of course, different prices.
