Bracelets aren’t only used for fashion. In Latin America, traditional Azabache bracelets are worn to protect against the Mal de Ojo, or evil eye. The people of that culture believe the evil eye is the result of excessive admiration or envious looks, and often gold bracelets are used to deflect the bad mojo. Parents of newborn infants often clasp an infant-sized azabache, which is a gold bracelet or necklace with a black or red coral charm in the form of a fist, around their newborn to protect them from the evil eye. In Bulgaria there is a tradition called Martenitsa. This ancient tradition involves wrapping or tying a red and white string around the wrist. By wearing the traditional Martenitsa bracelet in this manner, the wearer hopes to please Baba Marta to make spring come sooner. Bracelets are not always used for a superstitious act. In various parts of India, the type and number of bangles worn by a woman denotes her marital status. Around the world, bracelets are used for medical and identification purposes, such as a hospital patient-identification tag or allergy bracelet.
Typically, contemporary bracelets are found in three or four styles. The status symbol of the tennis bracelet signifies wealth and affluence more clearly than any Egyptian bracelet ever could. The in-line thin diamond bracelet that features a symmetrical pattern of diamonds is the traditional form of a tennis bracelet. This particular bracelet came into recent fashion, when Chris Evert, the former Number One World Woman tennis player and the winner of 18 Grand Slam singles titles, was playing in the 1976 U.S. Open. Chris wore an elegant, light in-line diamond bracelet. During the match, the bracelet broke and the match was interrupted to allow Chris to recover her expensive diamonds. The ‘tennis bracelet’
incident sparked a new name for the item and grew to encompass a massive jewelry trend and status symbol.








