Make Me! Monday: Cinnabar Beads

Make Me! Monday
Cinnabar Beads

Last summer, I bought some black cinnabar beads. I wasn't sure what I'd make with them, so I put them away, and sort of forgot they were there. Over the weekend, I was hit by the organizational bug and found them again. So this weekend, these cinnabar beads were the ones that were screaming Make Me! So, I combined it with clear Chinese crystals, red African bone, and some richly colored burgundy freshwater pearls.

Cinnabar Beads are made in China out of wood and then coated in lacquer. The beads are often stained red to match the mineral, cinnabar. However other beads, like the one in my necklace are colored black. The beads are then hand carved with an intricate design. In the old days, Cinnabar was highly toxic because it had a high mercury content (mercury is the silver stuff in non-digital thermometers). Nowadays, a resin-based polymer is used in place of the mercury content. The synthetic nature of the polymer closely mimics the lacquered look, so Cinnabar jewelry is safe.

Happy Monday!