Price is per 16-inch string of these natural matt-finish beads - about 400 x 3mm x 1mm 400 wafers. Slightly less in the string for the 6mm. These strong, slick beads are great for spacers and will go a long way.

The benefits of hematite
Hematite makes great jewellery because it's inexpensive and look shiny and sleek. People wear it as rings, bracelets and necklaces not only for style, but because they believe the magnetic variety relieves rheumatism. Magnetic therapy has been around for over 4,000 years.

The idea is that a magnetic field can relax capillary walls in the body. This causes an increase in blood flow, similar to the effect of massaging your muscles, and stimulate the areas around the muscles to speed up healing. Others say, magnetic jewellery allows the body to produce endorphins, the natural pain killers.

What is hematite
Hematite is one of the most common minerals, formed by oxidized iron. Although usually black in jewellery, it adds to the red colour of garnet and ruby. All non-crystalline forms of hematite come from the mineral Limonite that lost water due to heat. Hence recent excitement of the discovery of grey hematite on the planet Mars - suggesting there was water once present. Only well-formed crystals are cut and polished into cabochons for jewellery, beads, and ornaments.

Hematite comes from a Greek word for "blood-like" because of the colour, and ancient superstition believed that hematite was formed from battles.

Different types of hematite beads
Not all hematite is magnetic. Sometimes the magnetic attraction can be a disadvantage to jewellery design - pulling metal from other components. And there is a new type of hematite bead recently available giving yet another angle to this versatile metal - Aurora Borealis. This is hematite with an AB coating similarly used on crystals to give a multi-coloured effect when turned. This looks striking on jewellery designed to be worn in bright lights at night.

400 Unusual Sleek Matt Hematite Square Wafer Heishi Beads - 6mm or 3mm

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