Today at a local antique store, I found this lovely deep rose faceted glass bead necklace. I've never seen this color before. I don't think they're new...??

And a strand of striped brick red trade beads! Not a steal, but a very reasonable price, and no shipping. :^)

I didn't realize I was on a 'rosy red' kick til I lined them up for their picture.

I believe the orange beads are spondylus (spiny oyster) shell. The shells are quite common in old (and contemporary) Native North American ("Indian") jewelry as well as adornments from Peru.

The material and the stringing in your necklace is almost identical to "pre-Columbian" necklaces that I bought in Peru in the late 1970's and again more recently. These are very cool, but not terribly rare.

NOT! :^D I knew they weren't precious or anything, I just love the colors. I'm happy to get a few pieces of turquoise and coral, some silver beads and heishi out of them.

I had no idea they were marketing as pre-Columbian, or from Peru. I always assumed they were vaguely Hawaian, hence the puka reference. I remember they were popular in the 70's, so that definitely fits!

I'll take these apart at some point and reuse the components in other designs. I'll send the abalone heart to my daughter, who will think it's amazingly cool. :^)

I know you'll make something very interesting and wonderful out of all of it!!

aka spiny oyster, it's very predominant in southwestern jewelry. I like the color, it can go from pink to dark orange to purple.
If I could see the clasp on your pink faceted necklace I might be able to tell you more surely, but I'm pretty sure they're Czech and probably not new.
A very decent haul I'd say, makes me want to go hit the Goodie Stores!

Yes, on the rose glass necklace, when I said I didn't think it was new, I meant I don't think it's spankin' new, but I don't think it's especially old, either. But still pretty. Love the color!

Thanks for the insight on the spiny oyster, I think I'll be re-purposing these items soon!

I'm definitely gonna keep an eye out for more!
Again, thanks for the info.

Totally agree the red- orange beads are spondylous. But most modern 'heishi' shaped spiny oyster beads are thinner and smoother.. (Most of the Mexican and native American spiny oyster strands are machine made today.) These look like very old beads, it's been awhile since I've shopped these but.. possibly Peruvian? Id say do a search for Moche spondalyous beads on eBay.. The large focal/center beads on these strands are beautiful!

Found a few interesting things:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ancient-Pre-Columbian-Moche-Indian-Necklace-Composed-of-Nacre-Spondyllus-Beads-/231588110100

Thank you!

I found a lot of strands of spiny oyster heishi, too, but when I looked more closely, the less expensive ones looked more like....red-lipped shell beads??

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ancient-Pre-Columbian-Moche-Indian-Necklace-Composed-of-Nacre-Spondyllus-Beads-/231588110100

Yes! That strand is exactly what I was referring you to..(and I'm familiar with the seller.) these old strands have about doubled in price (on EBay ) in the last few years and unfortunately there are many imitations out there. After watching the "thrift shop finds" that appear on the forum, I have the opinion that old strands like yours were probably designed and reassembled by beaders in the '70's, when beaders became interested in using native american beads, African trade beads and ancient beads. I could be way off but my imagination tells me that these designs were worn then tucked away as fashion changed... Then eventually made it to inheritors or family members who simply didn't understand the intrinsic value of the beads. When I use ancient beads in a necklace, bracelet or earrings I always include a detailed description with the hope that the buyer will preserve the card and keep it with the beads. But in the end, no matter how beautiful the design of a modern piece of jewelry, collectors are probably the only people who will recognize and truly appreciate jewelry made of ancient beads. This is the great dilemma of designers who love to work with old and rare beads and pay a good price for their materials.

Luann
~Heishi are made from flattish pieces of shell, -a lot of work! whereas Puka shell choker necklaces are composed of hundreds of small sea shell discs naturally worn away and often found with a hole already- Peter Francis described picking up bucketfuls on some tropical beaches. They are the flat tops of spiral shells that resemble conus shells but miniature. So when strung they are much less regular in size.
yours all look to be worked Heishi shell discs.
will try to find you a picture...

here are examples of Puka shell discs and chokers made in Philippines -

In the 70s, at least in California, puka were the coolest. The smaller and more uniform the strand, the more expensive. Back when I roamed the beaches of Maui once (with the dinosaurs), I picked a few up from the sand myself, with holes ready to string. It's still easy to find a strand here and there in thrift stores or mixed piles at flea markets.

Luanne, thanks for sharing! It's always fun to find beads at thrift stores!

I've brought home some bead necklaces recently. No major scores, but some nice mid-level collectible beads.

Puka shell necklaces were all the rage in the early 70s. Then the imitation 'puka' arrived which is really finished or unfinished flat shell heishi or chips. These cheap imitations saturated the market. When I shop at thrift stores I always look for the 'good' strands of domed natural-edge pukas for $1 - $5. My favorite is a graduated strand with a turquoise nugget in the center, a manly strand that my husband wears.