Bead making has been a highly valued skill throughout the world from the earliest times, at least for 40,000 years. Techniques invented by the Ancient Egyptians and Romans are still used today.

They have been used to guard against evil and as adornment. They can indicate a person’s rank and marital status. They are portable wealth and are traded. They are used as amulets in some societies

They are used by religions. The word bead comes from the Anglo-Saxon biddan, meaning to pray. Roman Catholic rosary beads contain a set number of beads for counting prayers, for example 150 for the psalms. Tibetan Buddhist and Hindu rosaries have 108 beads.

The makers guard their techniques closely. In the 13th and 14th centuries the Venetian Doges monopolised world glass making. in 1292 the glass makers were moved to the island of Murano and forbidden to reveal their secrets or even leave. If they did, the punishment was death.

Beads can be made from anything: bone, horn, glass, wood, metals such as gold, silver, bronze, and brass, ceramic, ivory, seeds, berries, stones, shells, pearls, coral, amber, jet and even plastic.