Featured carved plastic japanese ojime beads ?

Hi folks

think i posted these ages ago along with others on a boot haul, but might have been missed

totally forgot about them, but getting ready for another auction

i get the impression some hobbyist has put the necklace together, with a few lesser quality beads

they do look interesting though, if i had to guess, some kind of carved plastic, translucent

they react to uv light, but not with a consistent colour, so maybe a composite of some kind ?

carved or molded ?

any thoughts or info would be great

 

Composite reconstituted amber, I’d say.

 

interesting, thanks obb

wondering whether to separate them from the necklace as im not sure all the beads originally went together

 

I'm guessing Chinese molded faux amber, but a genuine folk piece, not a hobbyist necklace.
Some carnelian chip beads and very low grade silver beads as well.

 

thanks Aj, probably best to keep together then. didnt even notice the l/g silver type ones

 

They serve as spacers, that's probably why.

How long is it?

 

no clasp at all, 15 1/2 inches doubled

so about 32 inches overall length

 

No, they don't. They just reflect back the purple, as most materials do.

 

looks like it to me, as they go opaque and not translucent
im not saying they are amber, but they do react

 

I have a little resin piece that is ojime sized, just not drilled, depicting a baby monster hatching from an egg. The critter is a darker brown; the eggshell is a lighter, yellowish brown. Under UV the dark brown reflects back purple while the lighter color is more of a glowing yellow, similar to your 7th & 8th photos. Epoxy glue also responds to UV.

 

yeah they are odd, but the reason i say they react is that they glow, not just reflect purple

who knows what the hell

 

I could see some glow, hence my comment about reconstituted. It does look as though there’s some amber in the mix.

 

I think it is faux all the way.
I have a couple of Chinese faux amber snuff bottles, and see the same and similar ones listed as genuine amber all the time, so it can be confusing.