7 CHAKRA HEALING BRACELET WITH PYRITE (PERSONALISED)

This is the most searched question about them, so here is a straight answer rather than a sales one. In tantric and yogic tradition the seven chakras are centres of energy running up the body, and the practice of wearing their colours is meant to keep that map in mind. That tradition is thousands of years old and we are not dismissive of it.

What we will not tell you is that a bracelet balances your chakras, relieves stress, heals you or attracts money. It does not, and no seller who says otherwise can stand behind it. What this actually is: eight named semi-precious stones in the traditional order, with your own word on the clasp, on your wrist every day. If the point of it for you is the reminder, it does that reliably.

From the base of the spine upward: root (Muladhara, red), sacral (Svadhisthana, orange), solar plexus (Manipura, yellow), heart (Anahata, green), throat (Vishuddha, blue), third eye (Ajna, indigo) and crown (Sahasrara, violet). The colour sequence is why chakra jewellery looks the way it does, and it is why the stones on this bracelet run in that order rather than at random.

There is no single authority on this and different traditions assign different stones, but the set on this bracelet follows the most common mapping: red agate for the root, carnelian for the sacral, tiger's eye for the solar plexus, green aventurine for the heart, turquoise for the throat, lapis lazuli for the third eye and amethyst for the crown. The table above lists them in order.

Because it is not one of the seven, and we would rather say so than pretend. Pyrite is a separate stone with its own following — the metallic grey beads are the eighth element here, added on top of the chakra set, and they are the reason this version exists alongside our plain chakra bracelet.

If pyrite is the part you actually want, we make a bracelet that is all pyrite, and it is the better buy for that.

The check that catches most fakes: on a genuine set, the seven stones look like seven different minerals — different translucency, different grain, different weight of colour. Dyed howlite, which is what a lot of cheap chakra bracelets are made of, gives you seven beads of identical material in seven flat rainbow shades. If the colours look like paint chips, it is dyed.

Ours arrive with a stone certificate in the box, and the stones are named individually above rather than sold as "assorted chakra stones".

The common guidance is the left for what you take in and the right for what you put out, but no two sources fully agree and there is no rule we would ask you to follow. Wear it on whichever wrist your watch is not on.

Some people rinse it under water when it arrives, leave it in moonlight, or hold it while setting an intention. Do whichever of those means something to you. We do not sell this as pre-energised and we are not going to tell you a ritual is required.

What it does need, practically, is keeping dry. Several of these stones are porous and soap dulls them.

Measure your wrist with a strip of paper against a ruler. S is 15.2 to 16.5 cm and fits most women, M is 16.5 to 18.2 cm and fits most men, L is 18.2 to 20 cm. If you land between two, take the larger one — a bead bracelet should sit on the wrist rather than grip it.

Yes — on the gold clasp, up to 10 characters, included in the price. A name, initials, a date or a short mantra. Leave the field blank and it ships plain.

Every day, yes. In water, no. Turquoise and lapis in particular are porous and will dull with soap and repeated soaking, and the plating on the clasp wears from chemicals and friction rather than from age. Take it off before the shower and the pool; rain is nothing to worry about.