Idar Oberstein old carnelian trade beads with 4 ancient arrow pendants two strands collectible African trade handmade necklace.
Beautiful handmade 2 row necklace with ancient old carnelian Idar Oberstein African trade beads and 4 focal Arrow triangular carnelian center pendant beads.
Two rows of oblong elongated old trade tubular carnelian beads measuring approximately 18mm to 26mm.
These are ancient beads that have traveled many continents and may have some chips or cracks.
The round ancient carnelian beads measure approximately 6mm to 8mm.
The carnelian Arrow triangular ancient carnelian beads measures approximately 32mm for the biggest down to 22mm for the smallest.
The shortest strand is 18”
The longest strand is 21”
This necklace has a silver hook clasp closure.
These are African Trade carnelian agate beads. The rounded edges of the beads indicate that the beads were imported from India. Agates were imported from India to Africa and the Mediterranean from ancient times, and this continues to be the case. These most likely date to the end of the 19th and early 20th centuries.
Located at the southwestern edge of Germany, ldar-Oberstein is the historic stone-cutting of Europe.
The industry was originally based on local deposits of agate, jasper, rock crystal and amethyst but beginning in the 19th century, all kinds ofrough gemstones began to be imported from around the world.
A great deal of this success was based on the manufacture of agate beads.
This not only discusses the history of the industry, but also provides in-depth information concerning the techniques and tools used in beadmaking and drilling.
Idar-Oberstein is a small town of roughly 50,000 inhabitants in a narrow, picturesque valley in the HunsrUck Mountains on the very western edge of Germany. It is located in the state of Rheineland- Pfalz, about 110 km southwest of Frankfurt am Main.
Idar and Oberstein were originally two separate towns, each conducting its own unique business in the gem and jewelry industries. Idar was the gem cutting center and Oberstein was known for its jewelry manufacturing.
Oberstein has long been only one of many jewelry-manufacturing centers in Europe, but Idar has had few rivals in the gem-cutting field. In 1933 The two towns were consolidated into one.
The gem-cutting region of Idar-Oberstein is now made up of the city itselfand many small hamlets that dot the surrounding hills.
Idar-Oberstein is widely recognized within the gemstone industry as the most significant European cutting center for gemstones other than diamonds.
Records show that gem cutting in the general region dates back to the 14th century.