Bone beads are made of cow and carabao (water buffalo) waste bones in Indonesia and the Philippines. They are either bleached white or tea-dyed to a golden beige. Bone is widely available, durable, and easy to carve and stain in a variety of ways, and bone has a long tradition of being used in bead making in Africa and by Native Americans,
Horn beads are usually made of carabao (water buffalo) horn and are naturally black or near black, gold, or a dyed red. Horn is lightweight and most horn beads have a semi-translucent quality. Horn is a projection of skin made of horn (keratin) over a core of living bone. Antlers and tusks are not considered horns, but are instead dead bone without a horn covering and teeth, respectively. Both antlers and tusks are also used in traditional bead making.
Bone and horn beads usually have large holes, and can be strung on leather or other thicker cords to make jewelry that is simple or echoes traditional ethnic designs.
Shop for Bone and Horn Beads here.
Carved bone or horn beads have grooves and notches carved into them. They are often tea dyed so that the markings on the bead are more noticeable.
Coin shaped bone or horn beads are round disk beads.
Dice bone or horn beads are small cube beads with slightly rounded edges.
Dyed bone and horn beads come in a variety of brighter colors.
Nugget bone or horn beads are small irregular chunky shaped beads.
Round beads in bone and horn come in a variety of sizes.
Stick bone and horn beads are narrow but very tall.
Caravan Beads, C-Lon, and C-Flex are registered trademarks of Caravan Beads, Inc., all rights reserved. All text and images copyright 2007-2010.
