Babaghoria agate comes from the Ratanpur region of India and is named after Baba Ghor, the “patron saint” of the Indian agate industry who died early in the 15th century. This shape of pendant is named after him, according to bead researcher, Peter Francis, Jr.

See Also: Agate Cambay    

A loop, usually of metal, that is attached to a bead or pendant for the purpose of suspending it from a necklace, cord or chain. Pinch bails feature two prongs that are squeezed together through the perforation in the pendant. Bails can also be made with wire-wrapping techniques or with loops of seed beads, fiber cord or leather.

Silverworking is an ancient tradition on the fabled island of Bali, Indonesia. There, metalsmiths trace the origin of their craft to the gods and to Bali’s fiery volcanoes. Over countless generations, families of artisans have passed down and perfected techniques of granulation and filigree to make exquisite beads and ornaments, not only of silver but also of vermeil and gold.  

For granulation, Balinese beadmakers heat short snippets of fine hand-drawn silver wire over a bed of charcoal to form tiny balls of various sizes. Then, they create elaborate patterns by positioning these granules, one by one, on a silver bead and bonding them to the surface almost imperceptibly by using only flux and bean paste, instead of solder. Filigree work calls for equal skill and artistry, as Balinese craftspeople deftly manipulate straight or twisted silver wire to construct intricate beads as well as to decorate them.

See Also: Filigree Granulation   

Agate is a banded variety of chalcedony, so by definition all agate is banded. Depending on how a stone is cut, however, this characteristic may not be evident in small samples and beads. Thus “banded” is often used to describe specimens of agate (or onyx or opal) that exhibit layering. The term is also used to differentiate true agate from moss agate, a variety of chalcedony marked not by banding, but by branchlike inclusions. 

See Also: Agate Blue Lace Agate Chalcedony Moss Agate Onyx Opal

The Baoulé people of Ivory Coast in West Africa are members of the Akan group that also includes the Ashanti. Like the Ashanti, the Baoulé have used the lost-wax, or cire-perdue, casting method for centuries. Their first ornaments were probably made of locally mined gold. Brass, an alloy of copper and zinc, was first brought across the Sahara by Arab camel caravans and later to West African ports by European sailing ships. Today beads and ornaments are still made by this ancient method in Ghana and the Ivory Coast—in gold for chiefs and other important persons, and in brass (often erroneously called bronze) for more humble bead-lovers in Africa and abroad. To make a bead or pendant, the craftsman first makes a model from beeswax, usually forming it from thin wax threads. Besides spherical beads and bicones, popular designs include disks, rectangles, and other geometric shapes, as well as human masks and animal motifs. The beadmaker coats the model with a slurry of fine clay and charcoal and then envelops it in coarser clay. When making small beads, he may encase several models in this thick clay mold. When the mold is heated, the melted wax drains out through openings left for this purpose (sprues), and molten brass is poured into the resulting cavity. After it cools, the mold is broken to free the casting, rough spots are filed down, and the ornament is polished with fine sand and lemon juice, or a grinding wheel if the maker can afford it. Brass beads may be given a gold wash for a more brilliant finish, or polished with black wax for an antique look. Unlike other types of casting, the lost-wax method insures that every bead is a unique original because once the mold is broken open it can’t be reused.

See Also: Ashanti Gold   

Bapterosses beads are pressed glass-and-ceramic trade beads. They are named after a French entrepreneur, who improved on the Prosser method for making buttons, which was invented in England in 1840. Jean-Félix Bapterosses used milk to moisten the powdered ingredients in order to make a more plastic paste that could be molded into more complex shapes. He also developed interchangeable dies and machinery to mass produce buttons.  

Then, in the early 1860s he began making beads, which soon became so popular, that he had to build a dairy herd to supply the 500 liters of milk he needed daily to keep up his factory’s production. Before the end of the century, however, these French beads faced stiff competition from Bohemia and Germany. 

Bapterosses beads tend to be more finely made than other beads made by the Prosser method. The characteristic equatorial ridge and pitted end are less perceptible. Most notably, French “snake” beads are more sharply defined and mesh more tightly than the more rounded Czech version. 

See Also: Bohemian Pressed Glass Pressed Glass Beads Prosser Beads Snake Beads

Barrel beads are shaped like old oak barrels or kegs. They are basically cylindrical with flat ends, but they taper slightly toward each end, which gives them a curved, convex profile. It is difficult to construct this shape in metal, and barrel beads are seldom seen in that material. One finds barrel-shaped gemstone beads more often, as well as some of drawn glass, especially older examples, but they require a considerable amount of hand-grinding. Most frequently, barrel beads are made of molded glass or soft substances, like wood, using materials and techniques that make shaping the curved profile and flat ends relatively easy.

These beads, decorated with bold designs, represent the continuation of a long tradition of modifying beads that started with etched carnelian and dZi beads, led to pumtek beads, and finally bone beads. The ones usually identified as batik bone beads come from Kenya and are a relatively recent development. They are produced in oblate (flattened round), tubular, coin, and tab shapes. 

Produced in a multitude of patterns including dots, stripes, and chevrons, these beads are cut from long bones of cows or other large animals, shaped, polished and sometimes the large space left by the marrow is plugged with wood to create a smaller perforation. The areas of the design that are to remain white are coated with a resist material such as wax. When the beads are immersed in the dark brown or black dye it absorbs into the porous surface of the bead, except where the resist has been applied. After the resist is removed the beads are washed, dried and strung for export.  

India produces a series of smaller, lighter brown batik bone beads that more closely resemble Pumtek beads of Southeast Asia. Recently, China, where nearly every bead ever invented has been copied, began exporting excellent quality batik bone beads with very smooth surfaces and popular spiral, geometric and figurative designs. The Chinese bone bead shapes include round, rondel, coin and tabular shapes. 

See Also: dZi Beads Pumtek Beads

For generations, West Africans have mined bauxite to make beads, which the Krobo people of Ghana call abo. Formed from leached and weathered volcanic soils, bauxite is a claylike aggregate composed primarily of aluminum oxides. The presence of iron oxides gives it a reddish coloration. 

Bauxite is soft and easy to work. Krobo villagers shape it mainly into cylinders of varying length and diameter, which they perforate with a bow-drill. Ranging from rosy beige to rusty brown, bauxite beads are opaque and, when new, may appear dull or dusty. But with age, wear and contact with oils, they darken and acquire a warm luster. When damp, they smell of fresh earth.  

Ghanaians wear beads in religious rites as well as for adornment. At funerals, beads traditionally adorn both the corpse and the mourners, who express their grief and bewail their own fate, chanting “We’re going to chew abo”—or “We’re all going to bite the dust!” 

See Also: Abo Adjagba Beads Akoso Beads Bodom Beads Krobo Beads

Bead boards help in the design process. You can determine pattern and length before you start stringing necklaces or bracelets. The most versatile type of bead board consists of a plastic rectangle with a felt-like surface, which provides friction so the beads won’t roll away from where you place them. 

Around the perimeter of the board, there are one or more grooves in which you can lay out the beads. These grooves are marked along the edge in inches. By placing a series of beads in the desired pattern in the outermost groove, you can measure how long a section will be. You can then determine how many times you will need to repeat the pattern in order to reach the desired length.  

There are usually several compartments in the center or corners of the board to hold your beads or other supplies as you work.

These decorative beads can range in diameter from about 4mm to about 15mm and are designed to enhance the appearance of plain round beads by framing them decoratively. Some loose bead caps are only slightly domed, while others resemble halves of spheres. Although plain bead caps exist, most handmade bead caps come from India and Bali and are decorated with applied wire designs, granulation, or a combination. Machine stamped mass-produced bead caps are much lighter in weight and have a more filigree-like style or openwork look. Made of base metal, they are plated in gold, silver, copper, black and vintage brass finishes.  

Sometimes gold or silver caps are permanently applied to the ends of valuable ancient stone beads such as etched carnelians, dZi and related banded agates to conceal damage or reinforce fragile beads. This style has been copied in some contemporary silver-capped bead styles from Nepal. The new beads most frequently capped in this way include carnelian, amber, turquoise, and some naturally banded agates or imitation dZi.  

When a bead cap becomes more bell-shaped or conical, it’s called a cone. The purpose also changes from decorative to functional—to hide knots that connect a multi-strand necklace to a clasp.   

See Also: Cones   

Bead looms are used to weave seed beads together to create flat beaded jewelry or other types of beadwork. Looms range from simple cardboard ones you can build yourself to more intricate wooden ones that are constructed very precisely. With either type, thread is strung on the loom in straight lines, creating the warp threads, which form the base of the project. A separate length of thread, which will serve as the weft thread, is then threaded through a needle and tied to one of the outside warp threads. Beads are added to this weft thread and woven onto the warp threads in the desired pattern. Looms are typically used for Native American style beading.

A bead reamer comes in handy when the hole in a bead is too small or is not straight, or when the two ends of a perforation in a hand-drilled bead do not quite meet. This simple tool quickly solves those problems. The best-quality bead reamers come with diamond tips, which can smooth rough edges or enlarge perforations quickly and efficiently. Reamers that have tips with different shapes can be very useful for different types of jobs. 

Prevents the frustration of having beads that you have carefully strung fall off accidentally and roll all over the place. These stoppers are a stainless steel spring with an extended coil on each end. When these extensions are squeezed together, the spring opens so your stringing cord can easily be placed between the coils. When the extensions are released, the spring then closes, so the cord is gripped tightly between the coils and the beads cannot slip off.   

A finding designed to conceal the knots at the ends of necklaces and made a secure connection between the cord and the clasp.

Bead tip cement is used to bond the knots inside bead tips or to fix any other knots that need to be secured. G-S Hypo Cement is the preferred brand of bead tip cement. It comes with a precision applicator to place the adhesive exactly where it is needed inside a small bead tip. It will not bond to your fingers and is considered a medium-weight cement. It sets in about 10 minutes and dries clear.

Instead of cord, many who string necklaces now use various kinds of braided stainless steel wire; Beadalon is one of the more popular brands.

See: Cable Wire   

A beaded bead may consist entirely of small beads stitched together to create one larger bead. Other types of beaded beads have a core, usually made of lightweight and inexpensive wood, that is covered by seed beads, usually using peyote stitch. Because seed beads come in a near-endless array of colors, the results can be visually stunning, as well as texturally interesting. Another advantage is that even large beaded beads don’t weigh much. 

There are many types of thin metal needles used to string beads; sometimes the beading thread is just made stiff with glue and used as a beading needle.

See: Needles

This material, produced by honeybees, has long served as a thread conditioner that waterproofs the cord, helps keep it from tangling and fraying, and helps it slide more smoothly through beads.  

Beeswax is also used by the Huichol Indians of Mexico to cover the surface of gourds, wood-carvings, and other surfaces for the purpose of securing a decorative pattern of seed beads that they apply by carefully pressing the beads into the wax.

See: Needles  

Black Onyx is a form of chalcedony and a member of the quartz family. With a hardness of 7 on the Mohs scale it maintains relatively sharp facets. Onyx is known as a helpful tool for students because it boost memory and attention to detail. It also enhances endurance and persistence and can help build up physical strength and vitality. For additional metaphysical qualities of Black Onyx see The Book of Stones by R. Simmons and N. Ahsian.

This term is used for synthetic stone, which may include pulverized stone, usually with coloring agents added, mixed with epoxy resin. The result is sold in blocks that can resemble bricks. Not prone to shattering when it’s shaped or drilled, this material is then cut and shaped into beads, especially heishi, and southwest style fetishes. The most frequently used block colors include turquoise, lapis blue, malachite green, azurite (a mix of the blue lapis color and the green malachite color) jet black, and “pipestone” brown. 

See Also: Fetishes—Native American Turquoise Turquoise—Dyed Turquoise—Reconstituted Turquoise—Stabilized   

Bloodstone is a variety of chalcedony found in India, China, Brazil, Australia and the USA. It is generally medium to dark green with red spots. In the Middle Ages in Europe, these spots were believed to be the blood of Christ and many magical properties were attributed to these stones. Today Bloodstone is believed to be a purifying agent, helpful in dispelling negative energies, grounding, healing and acceptance of things that can’t be changed.

The wispy layers of milky white to pale gray-blue that mark this variety of chalcedony, or banded agate, inspire its descriptive trade name, blue lace agate. While mineral impurities in agate can produce a wide variety of colors including blue, the bulk of stones from Brazil, southern Africa, and South Asia—the principal sources of agate—tend to range from dull white to gray in color. The beautiful opaque- to translucent hues of blue lace agate are often not natural. The softly lustrous stones have usually been color enhanced, an ancient lapidary practice that dates to Roman times and earlier.  

The metaphysical powers attributed to blue lace agate correspond to its physical properties. Its subtle and serene shades of blue are soothing, stabilizing, strengthening. Cool and calm, blue lace agate, “the stone of the diplomat,” promotes those same qualities in thought and expression. 

See Also: Agate Banded Agate Chalcedony

Africa is almost unique among the glassworking countries of the world. There, glass beads and ornaments were and are made primarily with powder glass techniques (practiced to a minor extent in post-contact North America also, and possibly in Island S.E. Asia). Mauritanian women produced the most beautiful powder glass beads, called Kiffa beads (see separate entry) while West Africa produced the famous bodom and akoso. While most believe the Krobo of Ghana were the originators of bodom and related powder glass beads, others believe such beads were of Ashanti origin and possibly derived from northwest Africa. Bodom beads are very large. They have a dark grey or black glass core made by powder glass technology; however, the smooth, thin outer layer of lemon yellow glass that covers the core and their sparse decorations suggest hot-working over the kiln fired core. Some may have incorporated pre-formed glass decorations. Most commonly, the surface decorations consist of varioius cruciform designs, stripes, and eyes. Unlike older beads, contemporary examples are made using powder glass techniques exclusively and are formed in molds in a kiln or furnace, with no hot-working. These newer beads have a granular surface.  

See Also: Adjagba Beads Akoso Beads Kiffa Beads Krobo Beads Powder Glass Beads  

Some of the earliest beads recorded include bone, teeth, and ivory beads. These materials are relatively soft and some, like fish and snake vertebrae had natural perforations. Stone, copper, and bronze tools could be used to carve and decorate bone beads.  

Most modern bone beads come from cattle or water buffaloes, although fish and snake vertebrae have been popular as beads in West Africa. Long, smooth, cylindrical bone beads—called hairpipes—were used by Native Americans of the Great Plains to create breastplates that served as armor. Today they are seen mostly in dance regalia and used to make bracelets and chokers for adornment. In the Himalayan region where Buddhism and Hinduism stress the endless cycle of death and rebirth, some prayer strands were made of human skull bones, sometimes inlaid with coral or turquoise.  

Batik bone beads are another distinct category of beads currently being made in Kenya, India and China. Carved bone and ivory beads have a long tradition in China, India and many other parts of the world. 

See Also: Batik Bone Beads   

Botswana agate is a variety of orbicular, or eye, agate. Its fine concentric bands trace a circular, or oval, pattern around a central point, suggesting an eye. It occurs in subtle natural shades of white, tan, gray, and brown. Its coloring can be warmed, however, by soaking the stone in a solution of iron nitrate and/or heating it. This age-old technique creates lovely layers of pale apricot, salmon pink, rosy beige, and red mahogany.  

Beads of Botswana agate are often cut in tabular shapes to show off its beautiful banding. Tradition holds that an eye agate functions as an amulet, providing protection from the evil eye and the misfortunes it can bring. In the realm of mineral powers, eye agate is thought to help center your energy, focus concentration, enhance meditation, and foster a feeling of the divine within.  

Botswana agate takes its name from the landlocked country in southern Africa that is home to the Bushmen, or San people, and the vast Kalahari Desert that covers 70% of the country. Agate production in Botswana has declined, however, since the early 1980’s, when termites searching for water pushed diamond grains to the surface of the Kalahari, and Botswana concentrated its mining efforts on exploiting its rich diamond deposits. Today Botswana has become the world’s top producer of gem-quality diamonds and has ceded its role as a leading source of Botswana agate to China and India.

See Also: Agate Orbicular Agate 

A type of clasp for securing a necklace or bracelet that consists of a box and a spring metal tongue. The spring is compressed to inster the tongue into the box, when the pressure is released the spring action of the metal holds the tongue in place. To open the clasp, pressure is again applied so the tongue can be removed. The security of these clasps varies greatly and depends on the quality of the metal used and the design.

A dense and durable wood well-suited for carving beads, pendants and especially ojime.

See Also: Ojime Netsuke

Northern California artist Tom Boylan was born and raised in New York. After serving in Korea he moved to southern California to work briefly in insurance in Los Angeles, but he soon left the city to live in the mountains of southern California where he began experimenting with blowing glass. A spiritual seeker, astrologer, gardener, writer, and artist in other media, Tom moved north to Mendocino where he lives in idyllic seclusion, but with access to local artistic and spiritual communities. 

Using mostly borosilicate glass, the entirely self-taught artist developed distinctive techniques to achieve stunning effects. Always inspired by nature, Boylan continues to experiment with form and color in his home studio. 

Tom’s vibrant and luminous beads enjoy wide popularity among both men and women, but due to his many other interests they are often in short supply. His work has appeared in Ornament magazine, Bead and Button, and the catalogs of several exhibits by the Society of Contemporary Glass Beadmakers. 

See: Coral  

An alloy of copper and zinc invented by the Romans. Because brass is relatively hard to work and does not command high prices, it is not often used as a bead material in the West today. However, brass beads have a long tradition in Africa and Asia, and great quantities have been produced in Ghana, Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, and, to a lesser extent, in Ehtiopia, India, and Nepal.

Small drawn glass beads belonging to the seed bead family. They are generally about 1.5 to 2mm in diameter and vary in length according to their size classification. Size 2 bugle beads measure about 4mm in length, while size 5 bugles measure about 11mm. Plain and twisted bugle beads are made in the Czech Republic in lengths up to 30mm. Bugle beads may be composed of translucent or opaque glass with a shiny, matte or AB finish, but the most popular styles are silver-lined. Japanese bugle beads tend to be more precisely shaped than Czech bugle beads and come in a greater array of shiny and matted colors. Bugle beads, especially the Czech ones tend to have sharp ends so the choice of cord you use is important. For some applications a fiber cord is required, but whenever possible very fine (0.010" or 0.012" diameter) cable wire will be more durable.

Also called French bullion or French wire, this product consists of ultra-thin wire wound like spring. Designed to protect cord from wear where it connects to the clasp, bullion is used primarily in traditionally strung necklaces knotted on silk. Most straight stringing today uses cable wire that is much more resistant to fraying than fiber cords. Wire protectors are an alternative to bullion if function is more important than the traditional appearance of bullion. 

Burmese amber (burmite, a succinite type of amber) is relatively rare and has been mainly exported to China where it has been used since the Han dynasty (206 B.C. to 220 A.D.). Examples such as the necklace shown below reached the west during the 1990s via bead traders such as Art Expo, who specialized in high quality ethnographic bead art from the Indian sub-continent.

The necklace shown is a classic example of a style favored by the women of the Mizo tribe who live in the hills near the Burmese border. The necklace, known as "thihna" or "puan chei mala" typically consists of alternating long and short amber beads, sometimes interspersed with relatively thick aluminum disc spacers. Whereas westerners are more accustomed to light yellow amber, the Mizos appreciate Burmese amber’s reddish to dark brown color and mottled appearance.

Amber is the hardened resin of coniferous trees that grew millions of years ago. Though it is often called "fossil resin", the substance of the material has not been replaced by minerals as it has in fossil bones or shells. Amber remains organic. Amber has been valued highly around the world as evidenced by the long and dangerous trade routes that brough Baltic Amber from northern Europe to the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and even to India and China. Amber’s popularity derives from its beauty, light weight, and the many prophylactic properties attributed to it. In India and the Himalayas it is used medicinally, as incense for purification, for Buddhist and Muslim prayer strands, and in jewelry.

See Also: African Amber Amber