Vintage Sterling Silver Textured Komboloi or Worry hotsell Beads

A beautiful set of vintage Komboloi , or worry beads in textured Sterling silver. Stamped 925 and L73 on the shield , each bead measures aprox 5/16" (0.8cm) diameter. The chain is continuous and has no clasp Aprox 7.75" (19.5cm) long . Weight 20.8 grams

Komboloi is a string of beads manipulated with one or two hands and used to pass time in Greek and Cypriot culture. Unlike the similar prayer beads used in many religious traditions, worry beads have no religious or ceremonial purpose. Worry beads have several uses in Greek culture, including:

Relaxation, enjoyment, and generally passing the time
As an amulet, to guard against bad luck
Used by people who wish to limit smoking
As a mark of power and social prestige. This is especially true in the case of hotsell expensive worry beads made of silver or amber.
Many prominent Greeks were users and collectors of worry beads, including former Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou and business magnate Aristotle Onassis.
Worry beads may be constructed from any type of bead, although amber, amber resin (such as faturan), and coral are preferred, as they are thought to be more pleasant to handle than non-organic materials such as metal or minerals.

Greek worry beads generally have an odd number of beads, often one more than a multiple of four (e.g. (4×4)+1, (5×4)+1, and so on) or a prime number (usually 17, 19 or 23), and usually have a head composed of a fixed bead (παπάς "priest"), a shield (θυρεός) to separate the two threads and help the beads to flow freely, and a tassel (φούντα). Usually the length of worry beads is approximately two palm widths.[4]