Measurements: 4-5x10-12mm

Hole: 2-3mm

***Please note due to weight and logistical needs, these beads are shipped directly from Ghana, giving you value for money by reduced item price.***

***Delivery: Ghana Post International track service***

These beads are handmade and therefore no beads are perfectly identical. It may have minor dents 

These beads are made from recycled glasses and bottles pounded into smooth powder and then poured into moulds made by special clay/sands from the Krobo mountains of Ghana, West Africa, the moulds with glass powder poured in them are then placed into a very hot wood fire oven to melt the powder into these beautifully crafted translucent beads. The amount of time and skills involved in making these beads make them truly unique.

Beads are an integral part of African history from time immemorial. They function as money, they possess power, they indicate wealth, they are spiritual talismans, and they form coded messages.

In Ghana, Krobo artisans use recycled bottles and jars ground to a fine glass powder to mould and bake these trade beads. Painted and decorated with various colours and designs, these trade beads are prime for beading and jewellery making.

Powder glass beads are a type of necklace ornamentation. Krobo bead making has been documented to date from as early as the 1920s but despite limited archaeological evidence, it is believed that Ghanaian powder glass bead making dates further back. Bead making in Ghana was first documented by John Barbot in 1746.