What Are These Beads?

They are non-uniform, slightly cool to the touch, and convex in the middle. They have a band around the middle.

They "clink" slightly. They're matte with a very slight polish. Most seem to have minute pock marks.

The split ring at the end looks gold-filled. I tried to research jet and its look-a-likes, but the term is thrown around so willy nilly that it's hard to know what's truth and whats not. Jet is supposed to be warm to the touch, which mine is not, so I guess they're not jet.

Just curious if anyone can identify them.

 

Look at the bottom of this page at thew scratch test and maybe give it a try?
http://www.jmfelton.com/jetid1.htm

 

Oh yeah, I meant to mention that I don't have any unglazed porcelain that I know of to test these on...lol.

Maybe there's a piece of leftover tile in the back closets upstairs - this was my grandparents' house and they saved everything....I know there's linoleum tile up there from the 1950's. I'll go check.

 

Okay, I found a piece of unglazed tile, and these beads don't leave a mark at all on it.

Makes me wonder if they're ceramic. I wonder if ceramic beads would have that band and the pockmarks.

 

could they be made of animal horn....????

 

Hi, I wonder if they could be black coral? I know there are tests for coral such as placing lemon juice in one of the "pock marks" and see if it bubbles. I don't know how reliable the test are. I had a bracelet once made from black coral but thankfully it was in the original box with information about what it was or I would have never known. Just another idea for you to investigate. Claudia

 

I can't completely rule it out at this point, but they feel too clinky to me for that. Like the kind of clink you get with glass but not quite. Cool too.

 

Could they be wood? In the 2nd picture it looks like I'm seeing an orange (ish) or wood color underneath on several of the beads. I have no knowledge but just throwing a wag out there!

 

Check out this link: http://www.gets.com/product/Coral-Necklace-Round-6-12mm_p546582.html If you look closely you can see some orange in these beads. I have no knowledge either, LOL. Beads are so hard to identify sometimes. Claudia

 

They do look like dyed wood and even like coral with the little marks, but I'm fairly certain they're not either because of how cool they are.

I have found a couple of necklaces with beads exactly like mine, with that convex center, but one said it was jet and the other said it was gutta percha, and I don't think it's either of them.

The necklace is somewhat plain, so I don't even know that the kind of bead makes much difference, but it's just that I like to know what I'm putting out there before I list them.

 

Could they be vulcanite?

Vulcanite is a type of vulcanized rubber. Like jet, it's lightweight and warm or room temperature to the touch. But while it can be polished to a nice sheen, vulcanite is never quite as glossy as actual jet. Most vulcanite pieces are molded, as opposed to carved, and might seem more espresso-colored than black - the material turns brown over time and exposure to sunlight. Stockhammer offers this tip: When rubbed against unglazed tile, vulcanite leaves a brown streak (but such tests should be performed carefully to avoid damaging the surface of a piece of jewelry).

 

??? OOPS....I didn't see the above posts??? Sorry, I see you did do the test.

 

I should have mentioned that the orange hue that you are seeing is just from the lighting used. My pictures often come out with a slightly pink or orange hue - I try to remove it but can't always completely.

I do appreciate all the suggestions.

If I hadn't felt these, my first guess would have been wood and second guess might be coral, but they're just too cool for either of those.

 

When I have to do the scratch test I use the underside of the toilet lid

 

Good idea!