Resin, Possibly Faturan, Red Oblates, 13x16mm, Sold by the Strand of 13 Beads
SKU: ORR-243
Sale price
$39.00
Shipping calculated at checkout
Only 1 in stock
Description
- These beads are priced and sold as a strand of 13 beads
- Red, possibly Faturan resin beads made for the African trade, 13x16mm oblates with holes large enough for 2mm leather
- Faturan is type of phenolic thermosetting resin, named for a Saudi chemist believed to have invented this particular amber-like resin. A factory in Hamburg, Germany made the beads and exported them to East Africa and the Middle East.
- All phenolic thermosetting resins oxidize, taking on a darker color with age. Faturan has the wonderful characteristic that it always turns red with oxidation, regardless of the original color. From this came the name "Cherry Amber" used for red amber beads in Turkey and other parts of the Middle East
- Production of Faturan and other resins made in Hamburg slowed in the 1940s due to wartime supply shortages, and ended when Hamburg was catastrophically firebombed by the Allies in July of 1943.
- This makes the youngest Faturan beads over 80 years old and many are antique (ie over 100 years old)
- Worry beads and prayer strands made of Faturan amber resin command very high prices among collectors today.