North American Auction Company
Live Auction

Western Antique Auction September 11th 2021

Sat, Sep 11, 2021 11:00AM EDT
Lot 552

Natural Florescent Vaseline Trade Beads (3)

Estimate: $200 - $400

Bid Increments

Price Bid Increment
$0 $5
$50 $10
$100 $25
$500 $50
$1,000 $100
$2,000 $250
$5,000 $500
$10,000 $1,000
$25,000 $2,500
$100,000 $5,000
Up for bidding in this lot is a set of naturally "florescent" Vaseline trade bead necklaces. Vaseline Beads are a variety of Czech trade beads originally manufactured in Bohemia (present day Czechoslovakia) between the late 19th and early 20th century. Vaseline Beads are also known as “Uranium Glass Beads”, owing to the small quantities of uranium oxide diuranate and additional fluorescing colorants, such as manganese and iron, infused into the glass at the molten stage. Vaseline glass is not harmful—you are exposed to more radiation from nature walking around outdoors than you could get from the glass. The first necklace is made of graduated yellow multi-faceted beads. There are 34 beads ranging in size from 3/8"X 1/2" to 5/8" X 5/8". This necklace is 15" long. The next necklace also has yellow multi-faceted beads. There are 34 beads with an average size of 3/8" X 1/2". These two necklaces simply take your breath away when shown under a black light. The third necklace is of multi-faceted clear beads. One of the thirty two beads is milky white. Due to the clear color, these beads have only trace amounts of fluorescent material, so they only "hint" at fluorescent. This necklace is 13" long and the beads are an average size of 3/8" X 3/8". These necklaces are in good condition for their age.