Attesting to the ingenuity and artistic expression of the African people, these traditional glass beads from Ghana are often referred to as Krobo beads, the Krobo mountains being the main area of production. These beads are made from recycled glass. Bottles and other glass items are first washed and sorted by colors. They are then broken into small fragments for making translucent beads, or pounded with a metal mortar and pestle, and sieved to get a very fine powder for making powder glass beads. Glass powder of different colors is obtained using ceramic dyes.
Many popular Ghana beads date back over one hundred years, having been retrieved from ancient burial grounds. However, if the idea of wearing those from a burial ground does not sit well with you, you may opt for Krobo beads which are produced from other recycled materials such as glass bottles.
There are 3 main types of Krobo glass beads: powder glass, translucent and painted glass beads. These are hand painted. The blue and white Krobo beads throughout the necklace have been hand painted.
The other elements in the necklace are large Chrysocolla rondeles, German (Nickel) Silver accents and Bone.
Chrysocolla can be found wherever large copper deposits occur. Chrysocolla, the king of carbonate copper gemstones, is an alluring, vivid blue-green color and is often mistaken for turquoise because they share many visual similarities. It can often be found intermingled with malachite, turquoise and azurite, creating a wonderful mixed gemstone known as eilat stone. Legend has it that eilat stone was originally mined in King Solomon's mines in Africa.
The two strands, strung on black leather, are 23 inches and 27 inches long and close with an antiqued silver-plate Toggle Clasp.