First picture shows Rosanna picking out beads from a seller at the flea market. They had beautiful uncirculated Venetian beads. Pretty sure Rosanna will show her stash when she gets back from her trip.

Second is a picture of Rosanna with an amazing phenolic resin bead strand. It was massive, and hung from the ceiling. The owner said he bought it in Ethiopia.

I was curious about these lampwork beads. They might be French made, but not sure. Anybody with an idea?

Second was another fun shop with mostly vintage jewelry.

Rosanna had picked out a lovely apartment. We actually had a (far away) view of the Eiffel tower and a balcony.

Generally, these 'neolithic' beads are said to be dug up in Mali. I had to do some digging of my own through a box with some a layer of dirt at the bottom to pick these out.
The big one is my favorite: it is 45 mm long, almost 2 inches. It has some transparency to it, so I think it is quartz.

The mix has mostly stone beads, including some nice flat quartz beads, and some stray glass beads.

I found these blown glass beads. They are very well made, and I have not seen some of these before. The oval coral ones are very nice. I think they are French made, but not sure.

The second shows a find I am especially pleased with. These are Czech made glass charms for the French market. They are good luck charms from the 1920's and 1930's.

First one shows a necklace (I found two) with seed beads, French white Prosser beads, and venetian millefiori beads. Most millies are in bad shape with chips at the end. From how they are strung, it appears they were already broken when the necklace was made. They are strung on some type of nylon. They are very long, total length 6 feet. Their style makes me think of flapper necklaces. However, it would not make much sense that they would be made with broken millefiori beads. So maybe a later mishmash? I also saw one that had seeds strung instead of the millies, looking similar to pine cones. Someone picking up random beads?

Second are glass beads, about 10 by 4 mm. They are wound glass, with some 'moon glow' to the glass. The holes are very small, about 1mm. Some of the beads have some copper inside the holes. It makes me thing they were made on a copper mandrel, which was then removed by using acid. For as far as I know, this is a technique that Rousselet (and other French lampworkers?) and the Venetians used. So, do these beads look familiar to anyone?

Thanks for such a fun post!

Those mysterious blown glass beads are pretty neat, aren't they?
Actually a great idea for dramatic but light weight jewelry...maybe before plastic took over?

Thank you Floor, makes me wish I could have stowed away in Rosanna's suitcase! :)

But I think she was keeping it for London beads....

And there will definitely be room onboard the Queen Mary 2...when Rosanna begins her homeward bound journey Tuesday, May 10th...with many wonderful memories -and a few good beads.

Having a great time here, visiting with Stefany and continuing the treasure hunt. Also stopping at a few museums. As Fred warned me in advance, there are nice beads to be found at the antique shops, but the prices are high. I have made some purchases though. We also shopped a few local flea markets, hunting for the more deeply buried treasure.

Here's an interesting piece that I hope will bring me luck - a small strand of worry beads, based on Czech molded dice beads. Found at a flea market table for the princely sum of one pound. Stefany wondered if it was a good luck charm for a gambler...

Today is my last full day in London - I'll be boarding the ship home tomorrow afternoon.

It looks to me like a Greek Komboloi. And a very interesting one!
It gets swung around by (mostly) men, just as a way to pass the time. The metal chain makes it easier to swing. Plenty of time on the ship to practice!

I guess if I have "no worries" I should pass this to someone who does - LOL!

Thanks, Floor - I will see if I can master the technique.