and maybe a better image..

I don't find it's badly drilled. It's smooth around the large hole and just tight in the middle to go through with my thread of 1mm. And the beads seem quite old since the original thread broke down as shown in the first picture. Did the indians make in graduated size their stone beads? Thanks for the idea of aventurine. But what period would you assume? Thank you for giving me your input on each occasion.
paeonia

Hello Paeonia,

I agree that these are green adventurine quartz beads from India. This material is a mainstay with the Indian beadmakers, and has been for as long as I have been collecting beads.

If the beads have large apertures and are constricted in the middle—they would be considered to have "bad perforations." A well-drilled bead has an even perforation throughout its length, that is also centered and straight. The vast majority of commercial-quality stone beads from India are not so well drilled. And the channel is often crooked. I expend countless hours opening up perforations so that I can get cords through these beads. Anyway, the point is, the perforation doesn't have to be impossible for it to be considered "bad" or less than desirable. The drilling, as you describe it, is a sign-post that these are beads from India—which is what Stef and I would have expected. So you confirm that.

The constriction in the middle of a bead is a place that can easily cut through the thread or cord(s) used for stringing. That is a deficit—to be sure. It causes you to have to use a finer line, that is consequently weaker, shortening the life of your necklace as an intact piece of jewelry. By reducing the constriction and enlarging the perforation, you make it possible to use larger stronger lines, and you lower the likelihood that the lines will be cut inside the perforations.

Green adventurine is often mistaken for and misrepresented as "jade." It is certainly a reasonable jade substitute.

Your beads are most likely 20th C. products. Based on the shapes and format, I can believe they might be as old as ca. fifty years, but probably not older. They are essentially "modern" beads.

I hope this is helpful. Jamey

I like a lot their colour, texture and handcut form. But I am only hoping that the colour was not altered at the time it was made. Is it the case, Jamey ? When approximatively they began to alter colours of stones industrially? It's terrible to see so many stones produced now in their altered colours that I tell my friends to not buy any stones actually. You see mountains of stones with flashy chemical colours in every asian stone bead markets, you need to put your sunglasses. Is it safe to buy stone beads from before the 60's in order to find natural colours?
paeonia

Most aventurine is naturally reddish brown or yellow, though a green variety is also known. In our experience much of the green aventurine you'll find on the market, as well as the red and blue, is almost certainly dyed to achieve its color.

http://www.mindat.org/gallery.php?min=436

http://www.rings-things.com/gemstone/a.htm

Hi Russ,

I am surprised to read your reply. I hope you will show me some examples of dyed-green aventurine from India—since I have never seen such a thing before. The color of this material is not "dark green," but rather a pretty consistent bright jade-green. I don't recall ever seeing any dark green aventurine beads from India.

It is true there are also occurrences of "red" (actually brown) and "blue" (nearly black) aventurine. I likewise think these can be and usually are natural colors. I have not seen specimens that appear to have been dyed. But, since I am very interested in the topic of dyed stones, I would like to see specimens if there are such to be examined.

Be well. Jamey

- and have been for hundreds of years.

It's interesting to read of the many different ways 'rock artists' have learned to change or improve or enhance or deepen the colour of various stones.

I used to be rather puritanical about stones that are coloured in a garish fashion, but some dyed jadeites on Asian markets today are fun to string in really long double-strand necklaces of cool pink and fuschia and purple - colours that don't occur naturally.

It's a way of dressing-up dull stones.

But natural colours are classier, of course.

I couldn't understand the point of producing so much garish coloured beads in stone. Surely it must cost less colouring stones than producing the laboring glass beads. I can imagine that
there's no more human work in the whole process of couloring and manufacturing the stone beads. Beauty and civilisations are definitely vanishing from the world. Confusing though when you find yourself in front of those mountains of coloured thing. I'll have to definitely update my taste oneday !

paeonia

I prefer the weight and presence of stones to glass, it's just a personal thing. (If you're interested in glass beads, Asian markets are flooded with those too, of course mass produced in China).

The Chinese seem to have become very efficient at mining and shaping stone beads, and the dyeing is their way to market the duller off-white stones, often it seems to be coloured jadeite.

As a matter of taste I prefer the natural stone myself, or the older more subtle ways of colour-enhancing, but the best jadeite is quite expensive and the market is limited. So when shopping I buy a few strands of good natural jadeite and rather more strands of the garish dyed colours. The jadeite go to the discerning customer, but the gloriously clashing-coloured strands are quite saleable too.

I have performed some very basic tests on the colours, and they seem quite fast for everyday use, but would be interested in the observations of more learned contributors here on that.

Tah.

Hello Barbara,

This is an area of bead study that I have researched thoroughly, and is one of my specialties.

I think it is important that the issue of color-enhancement be presented carefully and correctly, and that a variety of processes and results NOT all be lumped together.

There is a big difference (in my opinion) between beads (or stone artifacts) that have been dyed (artificially, temporarily colored with dyes), and those that have been permanently enhanced ("beizen"—using chemical procedures based on mineral-rich liquids). Of course, there are also other sorts of processes to which stones are submitted to change their appearances. But at the moment I am referring only to conventional adding or changing of color buy physical means.

We'll have to discuss radiation bombardment, and the like another time.

Jamey

Thanks for your post.

I did not intend to 'lump together' the many complicated techniques of colouring stone beads. As I wrote to Paeonie, I prefer natural stone and time-honoured more subtle methods of colour-enhancement, but the garish new colours should not be despised, imo.

The colours seem quite fast when I have done very basic testing (hot water, hot oil, acetone), and the infamous fuscia stones seem thoroughly permeated, but I would be interested to learn more.

I have to have a certain turnover in sales to support my love of stone beads, and I must say the dyed stones can look quite attractive at the sort of price that casual customers are willing to spend.

Hi Barbara,

The problem with dyed stones is that the process is temporary. Even if you cannot remove the dye with a solvent, dyes are not stable compounds. They fade from exposure to light (probably ultraviolet, but who knows why). The violet and pink colors that are applied to agates (unlike traditional beizen colors) fade easily. Often in as short a time as a year.

At the very least, people who use dyed materials should warn clients to keep those things out of direct sunlight and strong artificial light, as much as possible.

I suppose many people prefer natural stones—they think. However, the range of treatments that are routine, and are thousands of years old is not appreciated by many bead collectors. A lot of this stuff is presumed to be "natural" when it isn't. Let's start with carnelian....

Take care. Jamey

I have never had the stones for longer than a month or two - I'll hold some back next time and leave them on the window sill in the Philippine sun to see how long it takes for them to fade.

Of course I will also warn my customers. Reputation is important to me.

Thanks, Jamey, as always.

Jamey you are absolutely correct when you say: "The problem with dyed stones is that the process is temporary".........this, however does not only hold true for dyed stones, it also can pertain to Natural, Untreated stones as well!

Some "unenhanced" Gemstones can fade when exposed to long durations of direct sunlight, they include:

Natural Amethyst becomes pale,
Natural Apatite, the pink variety, fades,
Natural Aquamarine can become very pale,
Aventurine, the translucent type often fades in color,
Natural, untreated Beryl especially the brown or orange types may change to pale pink,
Natural, untreated Chrysoprase, fades badly,
Heated Amethyst can produce Citrine, which in turn may change color,
Natural Fluorite, green and purple types change color,
Natural, untreated Kunzite, becomes pale or loses color,
Natural Celestite, fades in direct sunlight,
Natural Rose Quartz becomes pale,
Natural Smokey Quartz becomes pale,
In fact several of these types are Heated or otherwise treated to stabilze or lessen this "paling" or colorloss from exposure to sunlight, for example Amethyst is routinely heat treated to "fix" or enhance the color, this typically lessens the fading from sunlight.
Thomas

We ran a stall at a festival last week.
The great Britsh weather did it's worst as ever!!!
I noticed a piece of pale blue Fluorite from El Hamman in Morocco change to a deep violet after a few hours in the rain...all of the intoxicated festival types decided it was a magical effect and sent their friends to see!!!
Made for some surreal encounters!!!
here are some pics!
Warm wishes
Sarah

Reminds me a bit of Haight St. in San Francisco......Sarah, is that you, behind the tables of goodies?

Hi Joyce,
No none of them are me I was safely behind the camera!!
Not keen on pics......I spent 15 years as a performer....all pics of me are from that time! I avoid them now!
warm wishes
Sarah

Thanks P., but the last lot of garish gaudies I bought when I was in Beijing last October, and has long since sold.

They move quite quickly.

I have a new digital camera (last one exploded when I plugged it into mains in China) and when I get back to Manila I'll be working again and I have to take more pictures anyway. So later!

(I also find it quite fiddly to get my pictures to the right size to post here.)

I'm too busy when I'm in UK, it will have to wait until my return to Manila