About the Beads

Handmade Beaded Jewellery

Each individual piece of jewellery is made completely by hand. The necklaces and bracelets are threaded on either quality tiger tail or the strongest waxed thread and finished with a silver plated or gold coloured bolt clasp or screw.
They make an unusual gift, or an indulgent treat. For a really unique present you may commission a handmade necklace or bracelet to your own requirements.

A  Brief  History  of  Beads

The word ‘bead’ or ‘bede’ is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word ‘biddan’ meaning to pray.
Every item is made by hand, using semi-precious stones and glass beads from various parts of the world. These include freshwater Pearls, Amethyst, Tiger Eye, Rose Quartz, Red Jasper and many other stones.

Folklore and mystery has surrounded semi-precious stones since it was discovered that a  piece of rock could be cut and polished to reveal an unexpected brilliance.

 The styles of the beads are Venetian, Bohemian lamp work, foiled, trailed,
 lustred, fire polished, mosaic, clusters of Indian silver bells, balls of filigree and other varieties, some decorated by hand using strands of molten glass and goldstone.

Since the earliest times, beads have been used for prayer, adornment and as a form of currency, or to show wealth – hence the name ‘trade beads’. African trade beads are now collected both for their beauty and historical value.
Glass beads are believed to have first appeared around 3000BC and by the time of the Roman Empire, were to be found throughout Europe and the far East.
The Romans perfected certain styles of beads which became highly prized. These were later refined during the Middle Ages by the Venetians who were leaders in the world of glass production. By the 19^th Century a huge trade was taking place between Europe, Russia and North America with Africa. Thousands of tons of Venetian, Dutch and Bohemian glass beads were being exchanged for gold, ivory and even slaves.
Today the largest producers of glass beads are India, Czechoslovakia and Japan, though they are still handmade in Venice on the island of Murano. 

Uses

TRADE       In exchange for gold, ivory, palm oil, land and slaves
PRAYER      Rosaries are strings of beads for counting prayers used by Roman Catholics, Hindus’ and Buddhists’.
WEALTH & STATUS     Beads were worn to show wealth, especially in some African tribes, who also used them for dowries and to show marital status etc.
ADORNMENT     From around the time of the 16^th Century beads have been used in various styles of jewellery.