Beautiful beads
Toys for you!
Beads range in size from under a millimetre to over a centimetre or sometimes several centimetres in diameter. Glass, plastic and stone are probably the most common materials, but beads are also made from bone, horn, ivory, metal, shell, pearl, coral, gemstones, polymer clay, metal clay, resin, synthetic minerals, wood, ceramic, fiber, paper, and seeds.
A pair of beads made from Nassarius shells that are approximately 100,000 years old are thought to be the first known examples of jewellery.
One kind of bead is a chevron. Chevron Beads are special glass beads, originally made for the slave trade in Africa, by glassmakers in Italy. They are composed of many consecutive layers of coloured glass.
The initial core is formed in a star-shaped mold and can have anywhere between five and 15 points. The next layer of glass conforms to that star shape. Several layers of glass can be applied, either star-shaped or smooth. After all layers have been applied, the glass is drawn out to the desired thickness.
When cooled, it is cut into short segments showing the resulting star pattern at the end. The end can be ground to display the chevron pattern.
Chevron beads are traditionally composed of red, blue, and white layers, but modern chevrons can be found in any colour combination.
Look for the Toys for you competition in our competition section!
A pair of beads made from Nassarius shells that are approximately 100,000 years old are thought to be the first known examples of jewellery.
One kind of bead is a chevron. Chevron Beads are special glass beads, originally made for the slave trade in Africa, by glassmakers in Italy. They are composed of many consecutive layers of coloured glass.
The initial core is formed in a star-shaped mold and can have anywhere between five and 15 points. The next layer of glass conforms to that star shape. Several layers of glass can be applied, either star-shaped or smooth. After all layers have been applied, the glass is drawn out to the desired thickness.
When cooled, it is cut into short segments showing the resulting star pattern at the end. The end can be ground to display the chevron pattern.
Chevron beads are traditionally composed of red, blue, and white layers, but modern chevrons can be found in any colour combination.
Look for the Toys for you competition in our competition section!