Beads can be made from all kinds of products for example; glass beads, freshwater pearl beads, crystal beads, shell beads, plastic beads, acrylic beads, wood beads, metal beads, shell products, gemstone chips and glass chips, The list is endless! Beads add a great touch to jewellery, helps add depth and colour to otherwise uncomplicated jewellery. Beads can be used in so many ways from being thread onto string on a pretty bracelet or attached with silver links to earrings.

Our beaded belts are made of thousands of tiny little beads in beautiful colours that a the light just bounces off. Beads have been used to create jewellery and accessories for hundreds of years. The Native American Indians are famous for their intricate bead work as are the Africans for their beautiful wood that creates stunning wooden beads for necklaces, bracelets, bangles, earrings and every other type of jewellery! And still today beads are used all the time adding glamour to jewellery and fashion, the most famous at the moment is the Swarovski Crystal beads that sparkle like diamonds but don’t cost the earth!

The making of beads goes far back in history. The oldest form of jewellery consists of stringed beads. The first beads were made of shell or bone attached to thread. Archaeologists presume that three necklaces made of fish bones found in a grave near Monaco, date from 25 000 BC. In Great Britain beads has been found dating from 300 AC, while in the National Museum in Copenhagen they have round and flat beads from 1400 to 500 BC. These beads are made of the soft soapstone. In Stockholm there are also drop shaped beads from this period.
Beads were originally made of all kinds of material. When technology developed necklaces were made of pierced stones and glass beads. But beads of bone, wood and teeth are also known. Particularly in Greenland the teeth of bears, foxes, dogs, sails, whales and reindeer were used. When men invented steel wire other methods of stringing were used. Nowadays beads are strung on thread and on wire.
In some countries in the world the art of decorating with beads is highly developed. Some African tribes use beads for necklaces, but also for hair decorations. Beads can be made of glass, metal, plastic, natural materials and found objects like for example coins. In Europe the art of stringing was limited to the industry of pearls.

For that what a men doesn't know or understand he's always been frightened. That was particularly true for the primitive man. He felt exposed to and at the mercy of the influences of the Evil Eye. In an attempt to defend himself against this invincible influence he needed something he could hold to strengthen him. He believed that a handful of beads could help him, because they were small, durable, reliable and personal. He thought that they held a kind of magic and that started the superstition around beads. The idea that beads affected his entire family and all his belongings. In the Middle East you can still see children, mules and donkeys wearing big blue beads (why blue? nobody knows). It proves that this faith still exists. Gradually people began to attach a type of faith with a type of bead; amber beads were linked to healing powers and red coral was always thought to give protection. The Ancient Greek and Roman believed that red coral protected sailors against storm and shipwrecking. In England people used to quickly tie a string of coral around their neck to stop a bleeding. If you wear such a string you were warned if danger or even death appeared, because that was the moment the beads lost their colour and turned dull. Not so long ago young girls wore red coral necklaces because of the same reason. When the beads lost their colour it was a sign that the carrier suffered from anaemia.