or maybe you're already the one watcher...ebay#182177935505. They are large. The same seller has a few different auctions with some other nice melon beads. And, I'm not that seller for anyone wondering if I am.

Yes, thank you. I do believe those are made in India. I see/used to see entire strands at auction sometimes in various colors. I never managed to win any but I have a few loose beads from a bead store.

I buy good quality melons when I find them. The size is usually under 10mm for glass or stone varieties. I see some really good shapes and sizes in plastic, but I just can't go there (plastic) since I'm buying to combine with old Venetian or Czech glass beads. I've been tempted a few times though.

I have to say that I have seen quite a few small melon beads in the Czech Republic, but not these bigger ones like the one on your necklace.
Does it appear to be molded (does it have a seam) or is it a wound bead?

It might be that they were made for a specific purpose and there are not that many around. Could also mean they were not actually made in the Czech Republic.

Anyway, I like the finished necklace.

Floor, I believe it was wound AND molded. It is not quite symmetrical. The indentations go all the way to the perforation. There is a fire polished mold line parallel to the lobes. There are striations that look wound, and there are some air bubbles.

I assume it is Czech because all the other large beads in the jar were Czech.... as if someone bought entire graduated strands and replaced the largest center beads.

The color is actually darker than the photo, more a burgundy or maroon red.

Your bead looks like it has a different aspect ratio than the Czech melon beads I've encountered. Here are some from my stash. Found most of these on an African trade strand. Average diameter is 15 mm for the reds and 18 mm for the white.

Nice strand Rosanna.... oh those German marble beads, yum. Love the white oblong melon.

I have one of those navy blue beads. It also came from the swap meet jar

Yes, my bead is approx 12mm long by 17mm wide and the shape is unusual, and type of rondelle. Unfortunately I did not save the link to the blue versions I saw but they seemed made by the same or similar mold.

Followup: I've been sorting through beads, unearthing stashes, and came across these large molded beads from the jar I bought at the swap meet. origin of the large red melon. There is a smaller red melon remaining.

The large white bead was in the center of one of my necklaces but eventually needed restringing because I wore it a lot.

Sorry about the color balance, I can't seem to get it right.

Red, green, navy blue, aqua, white... were these colors popular in the 1950s? Maybe I should create a necklace from most of these... hmmm. Seems challenging.

Glass or plastic?... your opinions please:

The bead(s) in question is on the far right of the closeup, the clear frosted ribbed melons.

The seller seems unsure, except she knows the large bead is bone. She calls the necklace 'substantial'.

Do you see any clues to convince you one way or the other? It would be far easier if I could see chips, but I see only bubbles.

I feel this might be the same mold used for my red bead. Did old glass molds get used in plastics factories after plastic beads began to be produced in Europe?

Or is this another case of a seller who can't identify materials?

ohhhhhh......... I found another photo. It's blurry, but you can see the big bubbles from this angle. Arrrrgh!..... Plastic, right?

Anyway, it is priced high because it is a family heirloom, and the seller thinks it might be bakelite.

I'm fascinated because it looks like my melon beads. I would be pleased to own some of these in glass.

If I can pitch my two cents in -
The blurry image, to my eye, does not show internal bubbles - this looks more like surface impact damage on glass.

Bakelite would be the absolute last thing I would suspect. Phenolic resins would have to be machined into the melon shape - very labor intensive. And though it is possible to make water clear phenolic resins, I have never encountered any that were made into jewelry. The tendency of phenolic resin to turn yellow or brown over time "should" be apparent in most phenolic jewelry items (but this depends on the exact formulation used).

Most of the "crystal clear" vintage plastic jewelry was made from Lucite (also known as acrylic). So yes, the melon beads could be Lucite. But I can't tell from the photos.

The other clue that caught my eye - the inside of the hole on one of the melons is smooth and clear. That would indicate to me that glass is the strong possibility. Maybe ask if the holes are tapered - that would indicate tong molding.

Any chance you can request better pictures, and if not, can you ask to return the beads if they are not glass?

Often has interior bubbles, usually adjacent to the middle of the hole.

The ivory-colored beads seem to display layers typical of shell?