Large Saucer Thai Silver Bead Spacer - 13mm x 10mm

Product Code: ga4619

Availability:In stock

Price is per one single bead made of Thai Silver. Ideal for bead spacing.

Thai Hill Tribe  Silver
Over 100 years ago, Chinese hill tribes migrated south into Northern Thailand. These poor nomadic farmers used elephants to clear the jungle and quickly took to growing opium, rotating their crops every few years. The largest of these, the Karen Hill Tribe, still live in bamboo huts built on stilts.

In the 1960's, the King of Thailand tried to discourage drugs by helping the Karen develop an alternative income. Royal silversmiths taught them to design and make jewellery using high-content silver. They learned to create unique designs reflecting their own culture. Today, the skills are passed on to the next generation who specialize making silver engraved with plants, animals, and other geometric designs.

Price per spacer. These hand-crafted Thai spacers have a high-silver content and are of a better quality than our other metal beads. Use them to enhance your best designs. Size as quoted - but please note that some are tiny, so we advise handling these with tweezers. We price on weight in silver, but weight listed includes packing.

Thai Silver Purity
Thai Hill Tribe Silver is 97.5-99% pure silver. Sterling 925 silver is only 92.5% pure. The high silver content of Thai silver makes it softer than Sterling, but it doesn't tarnish as easy as Sterling silver which has copper added.  Obviously, this extra purity makes the silver slightly more expensive than 925.