I love beads especially old glass beads. Today I want to share with you two necklaces made with unusual and beautiful glass beads. The first necklace is part of a set including a bracelet and clip earrings. The set was passed down to me from my mother who received the set from a relative. I believe the set dates to the 1950s or 1960s.
These beads are likely from Italy and feature sparkling swirls of faux goldstone or aventurine. The book Beads of the World by Peter Francis, Jr. Second Edition published by Schiffer Publishing in 1999 describes the origins of faux goldstone.
It is made by suspending tiny flakes of copper in a clear or transparent colored glass medium in which they sparkle like gold. It was invented in the late 1600s in Venice…it remained a Venetian monopoly until the mid-1800’s at which time it came to be used more and more as a decorative trailing on beads.
Francis, p. 62
The second necklace is very different in appearance. The oval glass beads are cloudy in places with bits of golden foil embedded in them. They are uncommon beads often sold as opalescent glass beads or faux opal beads.
In glassmaking opalescence is achieved by reheating glass after it has started to cool resulting in crystals in the glass. While I am uncertain how the cloudy glass in these beads was achieved, a similar process may have been used.
Beads are not the main focus of my collection; however, I do love them and collect them when they come my way. These wonderful beads came my way at a flea market a few years ago. They were languishing, unwanted on a table, so I happily purchased them and gave them a new home where they are very much appreciated.
Happy Collecting,
Julie