Antique 18.5″ round Whitby Jet beads
I have been collecting Whitby Jet beads for the past thirty years. During that time I’ve been amazed as to the number of different materials sold as “jet”. All our antique beads have been tested, and are guaranteed to be best quality Whitby Jet. Bead making gives very little yield from the rough material, up to 50% of the jet is wasted, as a result often very poor quality Whitby Jet was used. This poorer stability material has over the past 150 years begun to deteriorate and bead surfaces show cracks and crazing. Unless otherwise stated all our beads are crack and crazing free. The beads are however all dating from 1860-1890 so may show evidence of wear.
