hello ,
I have seen black glass "jewelry" related to women clothes ,from early 20 th century , in France .
During ww1 , many wives lost their husbands , were in deep mourning and used these glass items to decorate their clothes . this will last to the fifties , I would say . this was frequently seen on old dresses and jackets . Just like you , we can still find them in fleas an yards sales .

Aha ok Thankyou, I live in France so that would make sense. Thankyou for the information!

The custom of using jet and imitation-jet as mourning jewelry was made popular (a fad) in 19th C. England, when Queen Victoria's husband, Albert, Prince Consort, passed away (1861); and she remained in mourning clothes and jewels for quite a few years. This was probably not entirely new as a concept, but became routine (as her style was copied by many women)—and has remained so well into the 20th C.

Faceted glass seedbeads that imitate jet have been made for centuries. Mostly in Bohemia—where they were exported to France. In France they were used to embellish stylish clothes for women, for mourning, and for theater costumes.

The Czechs make a lot of black faceted products besides seedbeads. There are lots of larger beads—some being molded, or molded-and-cut. Some are solid and some are hollow. The color is typically saturated violet. ("The best black.") However I have beads that seem identically black—but in strong light, some are red and some green. They make flat elements with multiple perforations, that were used as bracelets. And there are many different flat/faceted elements that were made to be sewn-down. In popular marketing, these are sometimes called "nail heads." Some are also buttons. In the beadwork category, there have been many beaded handbags that feature or include "jet beads."

I have collected all this stuff since the early '70s—though I would not say I have an extensive collection. But I bought some nice spheroidal faceted Czech beads as recently as a few months ago. Beadwork pieces are often available at second-hand stores, garage sales, estate sales, and from sellers who specialize in this stuff.

Jamey

In Czech, this type is often referred to Cerna Bizuterie. This website shows quite a few examples, including some with similar beads to yours.

Floor- what a splendid web page!

I am supposing that "cerna bizuterie" can essentially be translated as "black jewelry."

Google Translate recognizes "cerna" as "black"—but cannot take "bizuterie" from Czech to English (!).

However, I think "bizuterie" can be related to the French "bijout" ("jewelry") and "bijouteri" ("jewelry-maker"), and "bijouterie" ("jewelry store").

Jamey

P.S.—"Cerna" is pronounced "CHAIR-nah"—the "CE" sounding like English "CH." In Bulgarian, the word is spelled "cherna" ("black").

you are right , this Z is pronounced J ( & in other countries , around the balkans ) like for Jamey !

the words in french are bijou ( plural bijoux ) bijoutier ( the maker & sometimes joaillier ) and la bijouterie , the shop & also the "concept" . In slavery periods there was this term :
" bijouterie de pacotille " meaning jewelry of poor value and that described what we love nowadays : glass beads .

Google translate often struggles with Czech. This has in part to do with the different letters and accents that are used. The correct spelling for bizuterie is biżuterie, with the mark on the z.
It is a very common word in the Czech fashion jewelry business.