The belief that worn objects protect and attract power is as old as human consciousness itself. It may be the oldest continuous human behaviour we know of.
Seventy-five thousand years ago, in what is now South Africa, prehistoric humans were piercing shells and wearing them as amulets. Long before any known civilisation existed. The Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia believed specific stones carried divine protective energy: lapis lazuli, carnelian, gold and wore them engraved with prayers to their gods. The Phoenicians spread the evil eye symbol across the entire Mediterranean, trading amulets alongside spices and silk. The ancient Egyptians wore scarabs for good fortune, the Ankh for eternal life. The Romans carried Mano Figa amulets to deflect bad energy. The Greeks donned Eyes for protection. Medieval knights sewing relics of saints into their armour before battle.
Across every era, every culture, every social class, humans have believed that certain objects, worn on the body, close to the skin, could protect them, bring love, attract abundance or connect them to something larger than themselves.
Over time, jewellery became also a symbol of power and status. A golden ring meant royalty. A string of pearls meant wealth. But even as jewellery evolved into luxury and fashion, that original belief never fully disappeared. People still choose their pieces for reasons that go beyond aesthetics. They choose them for meaning. For memory. For protection.
I know I do.
The Little Girl Ransacking Her Mother's Jewellery Box
When I was small, I was completely in awe of Roman and Greek gods and goddesses. I memorised their names, their stories, their symbols, the way each one governed a different domain of human experience. Love, war, wisdom, the sea.
At the same time, and with absolutely no connection in my mind at the time, I was obsessed with jewellery. I would ransack my mother's jewellery box, trying on everything, wearing as much as I could at once, completely unaware that these two obsessions were going to find each other years later and become one of the most important things in my life.
The Green Jade Heart
One of the most precious things I own is a Green Jade Heart, a talisman I inherited from my mother. I carried it with me when I moved to Mallorca more than two decades ago. A luminous green heart, filled with memories. A symbol of fortune, abundance and protection that crossed the Atlantic with me and has been close to me ever since.
Two years ago, serendipity wrote itself in the most beautiful way: I found some exact vintage jade hearts in a little shop in Barcelona. The moment one of them fell into my hands, I knew it had been waiting for me. That discovery led to the Green Jade Heart Talisman joining our Talisman Collection — a piece I was happily able to share with my customers precisely because of the meaning that piece holds for me.
That is what talismans do. They travel. They find their people. They carry stories across time.
Mallorca Keeps on Giving
The talismans I create are made with intention — with love, with joy, with the belief that an object made with those feelings travels with whoever wears it.
And then Mallorca enters the picture.
I fell in love with this island the first time I stepped here: its light, its Mediterranean reflecting that golden and unique light that inspires my jewellery collections, its mountains, its people. Especially one very handsome Mallorcan ;). Mallorca has been home for most of my adult life. I feel its energy in everything I create. The "poc a poc" calm that comes from designing by the sea. The warm light that inspires me every morning. The island's ancient traditions alive and deeply rooted, and worth everything we can do to honour and preserve them.
Now more than ever, I find myself appreciating and loving this beautiful island. Mallorca keeps on giving. I feel that I am in debt to her. We owe Mallorca our attention, our respect and our commitment to keeping alive what makes her so extraordinary.
I'm already working on it… stay tuned!
→ Discover the Talisman Collection
Visiting Mallorca? My private home studio is open by appointment, by the sea in Palma — very close to Fundació Miró. Contact us, DM us on Instagram @polajewellery_ or email info@polajewellery.com to book your visit.
With love from Mallorca, Pola 🌊
To know more about us and our story from a different perspective, read the beautiful interview Miranda York wrote about Pola Jewellery for View Mallorca Magazine.