Description
About twenty golden obsidian beads, 8 millimetres across. Some carry a wide copper band that takes the whole bead, others stay almost black. That contrast from one bead to the next is not a sorting fault: it is the model.
The golden sheen comes from microscopic gas bubbles laid down in the same plane by the flowing lava. The larger and denser those bubbles, the wider and franker the copper band. Within a single block the density changes from one centimetre to the next, so the beads cut from it do not all have the same intensity. The obsidian varieties set out that mechanism.
The 6 millimetre strand in the catalogue does the opposite of this one: its beads are sorted to light up in the same way, and the result is fine and even. Here the beads are put together so the gap shows, and the bracelet changes look with every movement because it is never the same beads that light up. Choose the 6 mm for discretion, this one for movement. Both are here.
The reservation is blunt: if you expect an even strand, this is not it, and no two pieces are quite alike. I cannot promise a precise share of light and dark beads, because it depends on the batch. What is guaranteed is that there will be contrast, not that it will sit where the photograph shows it.
Crystal lore links golden obsidian to self-confidence, by analogy with light that seems to come out of the stone. None of that is proven, and no piece of jewellery heals anything. I have gathered separately what tradition attributes to obsidian, in the conditional from start to finish.
- Real golden obsidian, about twenty round 8 mm beads.
- Deliberate contrast: some beads light up frankly, others stay black.
- Hand-strung in France on braided elastic cord, no clasp.
- No two pieces are ever quite alike.
What to know before you wear it
 |  |  |
The specifications
- Stone
- Golden obsidian, volcanic glass
- Bead diameter
- 8 mm
- Number of beads
- About 21
- Wrist size
- 17 to 19 cm, elastic
- Stringing
- Braided elastic cord, no clasp
- Weight
- About 17 g
- Stone origin
- Mexico
- Gender
- Unisex
- Brand
- Bijoux Obsidienne
Two ways of stringing the same stone
On a golden obsidian bead the sheen only shows along one axis, and the drilling settles that axis once and for all. A bead drilled at right angles to the plane of the bubbles shows its copper band face on; drilled the other way, it keeps the band on the edge and looks black on the wrist. That is why two beads from the same block can give opposite results, and why sorting is done on threaded beads, never on loose ones.
This strand exists because tight sorting is expensive and throws away good material. The beads set aside from the 6 millimetre strand, the ones that lit up too much or not enough, are exactly what makes this one interesting. Same block, strung with the opposite idea. The other bracelets are here and the obsidian guide explains the stone.
The beads I set aside from an even strand are the ones that make this one worth wearing.
Obsidian does not mind water, but it chips on impact and scratches against hard metal. Take the bracelet off before exercising and do not store it with keys. A soft cloth is enough, never an ultrasonic bath. Cleaning an obsidian piece covers the rest.
