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Komboloi
Varieties of Komboloi

Komboloi beads come in many varieties from plastic to ceramic, bone, glass, amber or other gemstones or coral. Religious komboloi may add a saint's medal to the strand, often St. Christopher patron of travelers. Some "secular" komboloi add a medal showing an image from Greek culture; these are produced for tourists and are regarded upon as not real Greek komboloi by the Greeks.

Amber is a traditional stone for komboloi. If reconstituted amber (mastica), partially real, is used, it should say so. Often however it does not and you pay the price of real amber. Same story with imitation amber. As komboloi grow in popularity, other versions are popping up. Long strands with big chunky beads are intended as wall decorations. Small strands may end up hanging from rear view mirrors.

Both of these uses count on an inherent protective quality in komboloi. Some modern strands are made of beads shaped and marked like dice, symbolizing good luck, particularly for gambling or games of chance. Others are made of cobalt-blue eye beads, warding off the evil eye.

Prices vary widely. Most komboloi in the souvenir shops of Plaka and Monastiraki will cost a few Euro but, even if you bargain on the price, you still pay twice its actual value as they are made of plastic or are imitations even if it says differently. Glass or acrylic beads are much more satisfying to handle. The cord-strung beads are more pleasant to use then the ones on chain as the fine chain can grate a bit against sensitive fingers or catch on the edge of a sleeve. Specialty stores offer better quality and a wider selection but you will hardly find any in the tourist areas.

Jewelry shops will charge substantially more. Gold and silver strands with semi-precious stones abounding. There's no upper price limit so don’t be surprised to find komboloi priced between 250 and 1000 Euro. As komboloi are growing in popularity, they are actually being imported into Greece so not all worry beads sold in Greece (especially in the tourist areas) are made in Greece.

Our design studio is located in Greece and they only make unique items. Therefore you will not find two komboloi that are the same. On top, they are hand-made. No mass-production, no imitation, no misrepresentation of materials used. That is why we don’t mind informing you on our properties pages how you can see the difference between what is real and what is not. As we never have joined the “Let’s exploit tourists”-game, nor will we ever, you will find our prices to be low for the high quality and the hand-made unique products we make. We want you to be happy with your purchase. Only happy costumers return.




 
  AGORA - AIG INTERNET SHOP
  KOMBOLOI
  KOMBOLOI VARIETIES
   AMBER KOMBOLOI
   GEMSTONE KOMBOLOI
   ORGANIC GEM KOMBOLOI
   GLASS & ACRYLIC KOMBOLOI
   ORGANIC GEM KOMBOLOI
   GREEK KEY RINGS
   KOMBOLOI UP TO 10.00 €
   KOMBOLOI 10.00 - 25.00 €
   KOMBOLOI 25.00 - 50.00 €
   KOMBOLOI OVER 50.00 €
   ORDERING INFORMATION
   WHY BUY KOMBOLOI?
   KOMBOLOI VARIETIES
   DESIGN STUDIO IN GREECE

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