Many of the beads I love to work with are made from Roman-era glass. These primary beads may be complemented by glass, stones, or metal. These beads are made from ancient glass pieces found in the region along the historic Silk Road.

The material for these beads is derived from ancient cups, vases, perfume containers, and other discarded objects. Many of them have a unique patina endowed by the mineral deposits where the glass lay buried. No two are alike, so if you really like earrings that are precisely the same, this won’t be your thing.

I have found these unique beads in a few stores here and there, and I also have an online source with good variety, in case you are also a beader: The Bead Chest. While I’ve seen very expensive jewelry that uses these same stones with precious metals, to me they are precious just as they are. To tell you the truth, I like them better that way. I like to make necklaces that use the old glass with Baule beads from the Ivory Coast, made from brass using a lost wax method. While the beads are modern, the process is very old.

More recently, I have become interested in other ancient beads. For example, some of the jewelry incorporates  granite beads in a variety of colors and patterns – beads that are hundreds of years old. These are found or excavated in the ancient civilization that is now part of the country of Mali. I’m also delighted by the variety of patterns and colors in trade beads, especially the glass beads traded across and within several continents in the last several hundred years. Many of them were made in Italy and used in trade with Africa. Some were also used in trading with Native Americans or even in Alaska. The older trade beads may have been passed down in families for generations.  I include whatever I learn about the beads from the seller in the description of the item. The more affordable glass trade beads tend to be made from the mid 1800s to the early 1900s, and most of the ones I use fall in that category.