Perle Verre Epoque mérovingienne Metz 29012017

Perles de traite en pâte de verre 18e siècle

A bead is a small, decorative object that is formed in a variety of shapes and sizes of a material such as stone, bone, shell, glass, plastic, wood, or pearl and with a small hole for threading or stringing. Beads range in size from under to over in diameter. Beads represent some of the earliest forms of

jewellery Jewellery ( UK) or jewelry (U.S.) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment, such as brooches, rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the clothes. From a wester ...

, with a pair of beads made from ''

Nassarius ''Nassarius'', common name nassa mud snails (USA) or dog whelks (UK), is a genus of minute to medium-sized sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs in the family Nassariidae.Bouchet, P.; Gofas, S. (2010). Nassarius Duméril, 1806. In: Bouchet, P.; ...

'' sea snail shells dating to approximately 100,000 years ago thought to be the earliest known example.

Beadwork Beadwork is the art or craft of attaching beads to one another by stringing them onto a thread or thin wire with a sewing or beading needle or sewing them to cloth. Beads are produced in a diverse range of materials, shapes, and sizes, and vary b ...

is the art or craft of making things with beads. Beads can be woven together with specialized thread, strung onto thread or soft, flexible

wire Overhead power cabling. The conductor consists of seven strands of steel (centre, high tensile strength), surrounded by four outer layers of aluminium (high conductivity). Sample diameter 40 mm A wire is a flexible strand of metal. Wire is c ...

, or adhered to a surface (e.g.

fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not th ...

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

Types of beads

Beads can be divided into several types of overlapping categories based on different criteria such as the materials from which they are made, the process used in their manufacturing, the place or period of origin, the patterns on their surface, or their general shape. In some cases, such as

millefiori Millefiori () is a glasswork technique which produces distinctive decorative patterns on glassware. The term millefiori is a combination of the Italian words "mille" (thousand) and "fiori" (flowers). Apsley Pellatt in his book ''Curiosities of ...

and

cloisonné Cloisonné () is an ancient technique for decorating metalwork objects with colored material held in place or separated by metal strips or wire, normally of gold. In recent centuries, vitreous enamel has been used, but inlays of cut gemstones, ...

beads, multiple categories may overlap in an interdependent fashion.

Components

Beads can be made of many different materials. The earliest beads were made of a variety of natural materials which, after they were gathered, could be readily drilled and shaped. As humans became capable of obtaining and working with more difficult materials, those materials were added to the range of available substances. In modern manufacturing, the most common bead materials are

wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...

plastic Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...

glass Glass is a non-crystalline, often transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling ( quenching ...

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

, and

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

Natural materials

Beads are still made from many naturally occurring materials, both organic (i.e., of

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...

- or

plant Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclu ...

-based origin) and inorganic (purely

mineral In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed. (2 ...

origin). However, some of these materials now routinely undergo some extra processing beyond mere shaping and drilling such as color enhancement via dyes or irradiation. The natural organics include

bone A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, ...

coral Corals are marine invertebrates within the class Anthozoa of the phylum Cnidaria. They typically form compact colonies of many identical individual polyps. Coral species include the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and ...

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

ivory Ivory is a hard, white material from the tusks (traditionally from elephants) and teeth of animals, that consists mainly of dentine, one of the physical structures of teeth and tusks. The chemical structure of the teeth and tusks of mammals i ...

seed A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...

s (such as

tagua ''Phytelephas'' is a genus containing six known species of dioecious palms (family Arecaceae), occurring from southern Panama along the Andes to Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, northwestern Brazil, and Peru. They are commonly known as ivory palms, ...

nuts), animal shell, and

. For most of human history

pearl A pearl is a hard, glistening object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as fossil conulariids. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carb ...

s were the ultimate precious beads of natural origin because of their rarity; the modern pearl-culturing process has made them far more common.

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In ...

and jet are also of natural organic origin although both are the result of partial

fossil A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved ...

ization. The natural inorganics include various types of

s, ranging from gemstones to common

s, and

s. Of the latter, only a few precious metals occur in pure forms, but other purified

base metal A base metal is a common and inexpensive metal, as opposed to a precious metal such as gold or silver. In numismatics, coins often derived their value from the precious metal content; however, base metals have also been used in coins in the past ...

s may as well be placed in this category along with certain naturally occurring alloys such as

electrum Electrum is a naturally occurring alloy of gold and silver, with trace amounts of copper and other metals. Its color ranges from pale to bright yellow, depending on the proportions of gold and silver. It has been produced artificially, and ...

Synthetic materials

The oldest-surviving synthetic materials used for bead making have generally been

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcelain ...

pottery Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and ...

and

. Beads were also made from ancient alloys such as bronze and

brass Brass is an alloy of copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn), in proportions which can be varied to achieve different mechanical, electrical, and chemical properties. It is a substitutional alloy: atoms of the two constituents may replace each other wit ...

, but as those were more vulnerable to

oxidation Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a ...

they have generally been less well-preserved at archaeological sites. Many different subtypes of

are now used for beadmaking, some of which have their own component-specific names.

Lead crystal Lead glass, commonly called crystal, is a variety of glass in which lead replaces the calcium content of a typical potash glass. Lead glass contains typically 18–40% (by weight) lead(II) oxide (PbO), while modern lead crystal, historically als ...

beads have a high percentage of

lead oxide Lead oxides are a group of inorganic compounds with formulas including lead (Pb) and oxygen (O). Common lead oxides include: * Lead(II) oxide, PbO, litharge (red), massicot (yellow) * Lead(II,IV) oxide Lead(II,IV) oxide, also called red lead o ...

in the glass formula, increasing the

refractive index In optics, the refractive index (or refraction index) of an optical medium is a dimensionless number that gives the indication of the light bending ability of that medium. The refractive index determines how much the path of light is bent, or ...

. Most of the other named glass types have their formulations and patterns inseparable from the manufacturing process. Small, colorful, fusible plastic beads can be placed on a solid plastic-backed peg array to form designs and then melted together with a

clothes iron A clothes iron (also flatiron, smoothing iron, or simply iron) is a small appliance that, when heated, is used to press clothes to remove wrinkles and unwanted creases. Domestic irons generally range in operating temperature from between to . ...

; alternatively, they can be strung into necklaces and bracelets or woven into keychains. Fusible beads come in many colors and degrees of transparency/ opacity, including varieties that glow in the dark or have internal

glitter Glitter is an assortment of small, reflective particles that come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors. Glitter particles reflect light at different angles, causing the surface to sparkle or shimmer. Glitter is similar to confetti, sparkle ...

; peg boards come in various shapes and several geometric patterns. Plastic toy beads, made by chopping plastic tubes into short pieces, were introduced in 1958 by Munkplast AB in Munka-Ljungby, Sweden. Known as Indian beads, they were originally sewn together to form ribbons. The pegboard for bead designs was invented in the early 1960s (patented 1962, patent granted 1967) by Gunnar Knutsson in Vällingby, Sweden, as a therapy for elderly homes; the pegboard later gained popularity as a toy for children. The bead designs were glued to cardboard or

Masonite Masonite is a type of hardboard, a kind of engineered wood, which is made of steam-cooked and pressure-molded wood fibers in a process patented by William H. Mason. It is also called Quartrboard, Isorel, hernit, karlit, torex, treetex, and ...

boards and used as

trivet A trivet is an object placed between a serving dish or bowl, and a dining table, usually to protect the table from heat damage. Whilst tri- means three, and -vet comes from -ped, meaning 'foot' / 'feet', trivets often have four 'feet', an ...

s. Later, when the beads were made of

polyethylene Polyethylene or polythene (abbreviated PE; IUPAC name polyethene or poly(methylene)) is the most commonly produced plastic. It is a polymer, primarily used for packaging ( plastic bags, plastic films, geomembranes and containers including b ...

, it became possible to fuse them with a flat iron. Hama come in three sizes: mini (diameter 2 mm), midi (5 mm) and maxi (10 mm). Perler beads come in two sizes called classic (5 mm) and biggie (10 mm). Pyssla beads (by IKEA) only come in one size (5 mm).

Manufacturing

Modern

mass-produced Mass production, also known as flow production or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines. Together with job production and ba ...

beads are generally shaped by

carving Carving is the act of using tools to shape something from a material by scraping away portions of that material. The technique can be applied to any material that is solid enough to hold a form even when pieces have been removed from it, and ...

casting Casting is a manufacturing process in which a liquid material is usually poured into a mold, which contains a hollow cavity of the desired shape, and then allowed to solidify. The solidified part is also known as a ''casting'', which is ejected ...

, depending on the material and desired effect. In some cases, more specialized

metalworking Metalworking is the process of shaping and reshaping metals to create useful objects, parts, assemblies, and large scale structures. As a term it covers a wide and diverse range of processes, skills, and tools for producing objects on every scal ...

working techniques may be employed, or a combination of multiple techniques and materials may be used such as in

Glassworking

Most glass beads are

pressed glass Pressed glass (or pattern glass)
is a form of

Glass coloring and color marking, glass of the desired color and pouring it into molds to form the desired shape. This is also true of most

beads. A smaller and more expensive subset of glass and lead crystal beads are cut into precise faceted shapes on an individual basis. This was once done by hand but has largely been taken over by precision machinery. "Fire-polished" faceted beads are a less expensive alternative to hand-cut faceted glass or crystal. They derive their name from the second half of a two-part process: first, the glass batch is poured into round bead molds, then they are faceted with a grinding wheel. The faceted beads are then poured onto a tray and briefly reheated just long enough to melt the surface, "polishing" out any minor surface irregularities from the grinding wheel.

Specialized glass techniques and types

There are several specialized glassworking techniques that create a distinctive appearance throughout the body of the resulting beads, which are then primarily referred to by the glass type. If the glass batch is used to create a large massive block instead of pre-shaping it as it cools, the result may then be carved into smaller items in the same manner as stone. Conversely, glass artisans may make beads by lampworking the glass on an individual basis; once formed, the beads undergo little or no further shaping after the layers have been properly annealed. Most of these glass subtypes are some form of

fused glass Glass fusing is the joining together of pieces of glass at high temperature, usually in a kiln. This is usually done roughly between and , and can range from ''tack fusing'' at lower temperatures, in which separate pieces of glass stick together ...

, although goldstone is created by controlling the reductive atmosphere and cooling conditions of the glass batch rather than by fusing separate components together.

Dichroic glass Dichroic glass is glass which can display multiple different colors depending on lighting conditions. One dichroic material is a modern composite non-translucent glass that is produced by stacking layers of metal oxides which give the glass shift ...

beads incorporate a semitransparent microlayer of metal between two or more layers. Fibre optic glass beads have an eyecatching

chatoyant In gemology, chatoyancy ( ), or chatoyance or cat's eye effect, is an optical reflectance effect seen in certain gemstones, woods, and carbon fibre. Coined from the French "œil de chat", meaning "cat's eye", chatoyancy arises either from the ...

effect across the grain. There are also several ways to fuse many small glass canes together into a multicolored pattern, resulting in

beads or

chevron bead Chevron beads are special glass beads; the first specimens of this type were created by glass bead makers in Venice and Murano, Italy, toward the end of the 14th century. They may also be referred to as ''rosetta,'' or star beads. The term ''roset ...

s (sometimes called "trade beads"). "Furnace glass" beads encase a multicolored core in a transparent exterior layer which is then annealed in a furnace. More economically, millefiori beads can also be made by limiting the patterning process to long, narrow canes or rods known as murrine. Thin cross-sections, or "decals", can then be cut from the murrine and fused into the surface of a plain glass bead.

Shapes

Beads can be made in variety of shapes, including the following, as well as tubular and oval-shaped beads.

Round

This is the most common shape of beads that are strung on wire to create necklaces, and bracelets. The shape of the round beads lay together and are pleasing to the eye. Round beads can be made of glass, stone, ceramic, metal, or wood.

Square or Cubed

Square beads can be to enhance a necklace design as a spacer however a necklace can be strung with just square beads. The necklaces with square beads are used in Rosary necklaces/prayer necklaces, and wooden or shell ones are made for beachwear.

Hair pipe beads

Elk rib bones were the original material for the long, tubular hair pipe beads. Today these beads are commonly made of bison and

water buffalo The water buffalo (''Bubalus bubalis''), also called the domestic water buffalo or Asian water buffalo, is a large bovid originating in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. Today, it is also found in Europe, Australia, North America, So ...

bones and are popular for breastplates and chokers among Plains Indians. Black variations of these beads are made from the animals' horns.

Seed beads

Seed beads are uniformly shaped spheroidal or tube shaped beads ranging in size from under a millimetre to several millimetres. "Seed bead" is a generic term for any small bead. Usually rounded in shape, seed beads are most commonly used for loom and off-loom bead weaving.

Place or period of origin

African trade beads or

slave beads Trade beads are beads that were used as a medium of barter within and amongst communities. They are considered to be one of the earliest forms of trade between members of the human race. It has also been surmised that bead trading was one of t ...

may be antique beads that were manufactured in Europe and used for trade during the colonial period, such as chevron beads; or they may have been made in West Africa by and for Africans, such as Mauritanian

Kiffa beads Kiffa beads are rare powder glass beads. They are named after the Mauritanian city of Kiffa, where French ethnologist R. Mauny documented them first in 1949. Kiffa beads represent one of the highest levels of artistic skill and ingenuity in b ...

, Ghanaian and Nigerian powder glass beads, or African-made brass beads. Archaeologists have documented that as recently as the late-nineteenth century beads manufactured in Europe continued to accompany exploration of Africa using Indigenous routes into the interior. Austrian crystal is a generic term for cut lead-crystal beads, based on the location and prestige of the Swarovski firm. Czech glass beads are made in the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

, in particular an area called

Jablonec nad Nisou Jablonec nad Nisou (; german: Gablonz an der Neiße) is a city in the Liberec Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 45,000 inhabitants. It is the second-largest city in the region. It is a local centre for education, and is known for its glass ...

. Production of glass beads in the area dates back to the 14th century, though production was depressed under communist rule. Because of this long tradition, their workmanship and quality has an excellent reputation. Islamic glass beads have been made in a wide geographical and historical range of Islamic cultures. Used and manufactured from medieval Spain and North Africa in the West and to China in the East, they can be identified by recognizable features, including styles and techniques. Vintage beads, in the collectibles and antique market, refers to items that are at least 25 or more years old. Vintage beads are available in materials that include lucite, plastic, crystal, metal and glass.

Miscellaneous ethnic beads

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa, Taman ...

Dzi bead Dzi bead (Tib. གཟི།; pronounced "zee"; alternative spelling: ''gzi'') is a type of stone bead of uncertain origin worn as part of a necklace and sometimes as a bracelet. In several Central Asian cultures, including that of Tibet, the bead ...

s and Rudraksha beads are used to make Buddhist and Hindu rosaries ( malas). Magatama are traditional Japanese beads, and

cinnabar Cinnabar (), or cinnabarite (), from the grc, κιννάβαρι (), is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining elemental mercury and is the historic source for the bri ...

was often used for making beads in China.

Wampum Wampum is a traditional shell bead of the Eastern Woodlands tribes of Native Americans. It includes white shell beads hand-fashioned from the North Atlantic channeled whelk shell and white and purple beads made from the quahog or Western Nor ...

are cylindrical white or purple beads made from

quahog The hard clam (''Mercenaria mercenaria''), also known as the round clam, hard-shell (or hard-shelled) clam, or the quahog, is an edible marine bivalve mollusk that is native to the eastern shores of North America and Central America from Prince E ...

or North Atlantic

channeled whelk ''Busycotypus canaliculatus'', commonly known as the channeled whelk, is a very large predatory sea snail, a marine prosobranch gastropod, a busycon whelk, belonging to the family Busyconidae.Fraussen, K.; Rosenberg, G. (2012). Busycotypus canali ...

shells by northeastern Native American tribes, such as the

Wampanoag The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 1 ...

and Shinnecock.

Job's tears Job's tears (''Coix lacryma-jobi)'', also known as Adlay or Adlay millet, is a tall grain-bearing perennial tropical plant of the family Poaceae (grass family). It is native to Southeast Asia and introduced to Northern China and India in remote ...

are seed beads popular among southeastern Native American tribes.

Heishe Heishe or heishi (pronounced "hee shee") are small disc- or tube-shaped beads made of organic shells or ground and polished stones. They come from the Kewa Pueblo people (formerly Santo Domingo Pueblo) of New Mexico, before the use of metals in jew ...

are beads made of shells or stones by the Kewa Pueblo people of

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...

Pomegranate carved in the round MET DP110584

Symbolic meaning of beads

In many parts of the world, beads are used for symbolic purposes, for example: * use for prayer or devotion - e.g. rosary beads for Roman Catholics and many other Christians,

misbaha A ''Misbaha'' ( ar, مِسْبَحَة, misbaḥa), ''subḥa'' ( ar, سُبْحَة, links=no) (Arabic, Kurdish and Urdu), ''tasbīḥ'' ( ar, تَسْبِيح, links=no) (Iran, India, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan), or ''tesp ...

for Shia and many other Muslims,

japamala A japamala, , or simply mala ( sa, माला; , meaning 'garland') is a loop of prayer beads commonly used in Indian religions such as Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism for counting recitations when performing ''japa'' (reciting a m ...

/nenju for Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, some Sikhs,

Confucianism Confucianism, also known as Ruism or Ru classicism, is a system of thought and behavior originating in ancient China. Variously described as tradition, a philosophy, a religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion, a way of governing, or a ...

Tao ''Tao'' or ''Dao'' is the natural order of the universe, whose character one's intuition must discern to realize the potential for individual wisdom, as conceived in the context of East Asian philosophy, East Asian religions, or any other phil ...

ists/

Dao Dao, Dão or DAO may refer to: * Tao (Chinese: "The Way" 道), a philosophical concept * Dao (Chinese sword) (刀), a type of Chinese sword * Dao (Naga sword), a weapon and a tool of Naga people People and language * Yao people, a minority ethni ...

ists,

Shinto Shinto () is a religion from Japan. Classified as an East Asian religion by scholars of religion, its practitioners often regard it as Japan's indigenous religion and as a nature religion. Scholars sometimes call its practitioners ''Shintois ...

, etc. * use for anti-tension devices, e.g. Greek

komboloi Worry beads or kombolói, kompoloi ( el, κομπολόι, , ''bead collection''; plural: , ) is a string of beads manipulated with one or two hands and used to pass time in Culture of Greece, Greek and culture of Cyprus, Cypriot culture. Unlike ...

, or worry beads. * use as currency e.g.

Aggrey beads Aggry beads (also spelled aggri beads or aggrey beads) are a type of decorated glass bead from Ghana, used by West Africans as ornaments in necklaces, bracelets and other jewelry. Aggry beads are also called Koli, Cori, Kor, Segi, Accori, or Ekeu ...

from

Ghana Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...

* use for gaming e.g. owari beads for

mankala The mancala games are a family of two-player turn-based strategy board games played with small stones, beans, or seeds and rows of holes or pits in the earth, a board or other playing surface. The objective is usually to capture all or some ...

History

Beads are thought to be one of the earliest forms of trade between members of the human race. It is believed that bead trading was one of the reasons why humans developed language. Beads are said to have been used and traded for most of human history. The oldest beads found to date were at Blombos Cave, about 72,000 years old, and at

Ksar Akil Ksar Akil (also Ksar 'Akil or Ksar Aqil) is an archeological site northeast of Beirut in Lebanon. It is located about west of Antelias spring on the north bank of the northern tributary of the Wadi Antelias. It is a large rock shelter below ...

in Lebanon, about 40,000 years old. Pierre pendentif gauloise bijou

Surface patterns

After shaping, glass and crystal beads can have their surface appearance enhanced by etching a translucent frosted layer, applying an additional color layer, or both. ''Aurora Borealis'', or AB, is a surface coating that diffuses light into a rainbow. Other surface coatings are vitrail, moonlight, dorado, satin, star shine, and heliotrope. Faux beads are beads that are made to look like a more expensive original material, especially in the case of fake

s and simulated rocks,

minerals In geology and mineralogy, a mineral or mineral species is, broadly speaking, a solid chemical compound with a fairly well-defined chemical composition and a specific crystal structure that occurs naturally in pure form.John P. Rafferty, ed ...

and gemstones. Precious metals and

are also imitated.

Tagua nut ''Phytelephas'' is a genus containing six known species of dioecious Arecaceae, palms (family (biology), family Arecaceae), occurring from southern Panama along the Andes to Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, northwestern Brazil, and Peru. They are com ...

s from South America are used as an ivory substitute since the natural ivory trade has been restricted worldwide.