Hello Linda,
These appear to be rough-outs that have been tumble-polished, rather than being typically refined and made into "nice" shapes.
The rough-outs are not "faceted." They are flaked or knapped—much like flint has been worked for thousands of years, to make implements and tools.
Although they might be from India, I know similar (quartz) beads from China.
Be well. Jamey
I've seen this in the last year or so, and I think they're from Chinese sellers. So, what Jamey said. :-)
They're usually described as "hammered", but translations can get lost along the way. And perhaps also because the casual buyer wouldn't be as familiar with the term "knapped".
May I ask where you found yours? I really like them.
Thank you so much.
I must be less sloppy with words.
My first thought upon seeing them is that they look like the arrowheads my brother and I sometimes found as children on Long Island.
Knapped.
My best,
Linda
Beautiful beads.Those holes can be improved with a bit of effort. I am a stone beadmaker and I chamfer my bead holes with diamond charged ball bits that are usually used in carving. By twisting the dampened bit into the bead hole it can be neatly ground down. A bit about 2 mm larger than the hole works well. I use a 100 grit bit and then a 600 grit bit to smooth the hole. You may not eliminate all the sharp edges of the holes due to what looks like rather unusual hole placement but you could seriously reduce the wear on the beading cord.In the past I have purchased these ball bits from Daniel Lopacki.
Thank you so much Frank. I will look into smoothing the hole edges. Most of them are not as awkwardly placed as the one most visible in my photo. It will be fun to learn to do it.
I have a lot of beads around with jagged holes!
I appreciate the specific information.
My best,
Linda
