Long Hand-Faceted Russian Blues

We recently came across a cache of these gorgeous long Russian Blue beads.  They are just beautiful beads in excellent condition.  Russian Blue beads were actually made in Bohemia, but get their camp fire name from the fact that Russian fur traders reputedly favored these beads in the Pacific Northwest and Alaskan fur trading endeavors in the 19th century.  

The particular beads are really quite special -- each bead is a well-matched long drawn bead that were then hand faceted.  Some of the beads have minor chips and a few have gotten discolored over the years, but for the most part, these are A-condition beads.  Each strand is slightly different in coloration, with some being a little darker blue than others.  Feel free to let us know which shade you prefer and we will do our best to match them!

Strands measure 20 inches long (not including the raffia cord, which adds an extra 4-6 inches) and individual beads measure 5 mm in diameter by approximately 20 mm (or about 3/4 of an inch) long.