Featured Type of beads and age of necklace TIA!

I found this long, heavy necklace in a thrift yesterday. I hesitated spending $12 on it, but I loved the beads. The clasp is marked sterling, the knotting looks newer. What type of beads are these, how old are they, do you think they were redone/ knotted onto new thread?
Thank you.

 

Very nice! While I can't offer an estimate of age, those look like some Czech beads I have seen.

 

Glass technique looks like battuto

 

I would have grabbed those in a New York minute for $12.

So unusual!! Cannot say I've seen similar (and I collect beads) definitely look vintage if not antique. No two alike, all hand knotted. Gorgeous.

Great find!

 

Thank you. I have been googling beads for hours, referring to my books, but have found nothing like this.

 

Love them but I've never seen anything like them either and I too have looked at a lot of beads.

 

Could they be Japanese? You guys are making me feel better about spending that $12. I really debated about it. This thrift shop has "experts" examine everything and won't let you even look at anything they got in without thorough examinations first. Then the better stuff is sent to their sister store.

 

At least you have something that slips through now and then. My closest thrift (Goodwill) looks post-apocalyptic these days. One can hope for a Chico's blouse, that's about it. It's so depressing as it was a fantastic store bursting with treasures just a few months ago. Luckily I have a few other resources, but ....

Back to the beads. Possible your thrift also didn't know what they heck these were --just like we don't, so slipped through. Are the beads definitely glass (not any kind of stone, right?) Just so unusual! I stand by my statement that $12 was a fantastic bargain.

Maybe someone else here is going to have ideas about what exactly the beads are.

 

I'd have grabbed those for the unusual glass.

 

Can't we form a sisterhood of the traveling beads?

Like !

 

Could they be Murano beads?
Patd

 

They look like bundles of clear canes, creating a honeycomb effect similar to millefiori.

Could use a little clearer image

 

I will try....each one is slightly different.

 

I think OBB is right about the technique.

 

Gorgeous!!! I think you have a rare treasure. I collect vintage and antique glass beads/necklaces and have never seen anything like yours. I agree with scoutshouse about the glass canes, and suspect your beads are either antique Venetian glass beads, or were made by German or Czech Bohemians using Venetian glass canes (I suspect no newer than the early 1900s).

The sterling clasp looks like a common style from the 1940s-50s, so I think your beads have been restrung.

 

They're cased clear over red/cranberry cores with battuto work on the outside, lampworked beads. Single fat core slice , not a bundle of canes, the "honeycomb" effect is the battuto. Google battuto beads. More likely to be Italian with that technique.

 

Now that I look closer, I can see the little honeycomb divots The texture looks different than the beads I saw when I googled battuto beads, but I get the idea.

 

While you're at it, check out the prices for single glass beads in that technique. The ones I saw were much larger, but even so ... yipe! Thank goodness that store had no clue. (and we're not telling them)

 

I don't necessarily disagree with Battuto, but I can't imagine working that technique on such tiny/numerous facets.

The only Battuto I'm familiar with is the soft wheel cut variety, not divots like @Marco. Then I see these:



I'm no expert, that's for sure!

I thought those might be separate elements on the ends. Maybe bundles annealed to melt that pattern. But I don't know. Exciting, beautiful beads

 

My take is that these are individually made lampwork beads.

Whether they were cold-worked or someone made a honeycomb press tool to use while they were still on the mandrel, I don't know.

Giant closeup of the ends of three or four beads might answer that.

But I don't believe they were molded and I can't think of any other options.