Fun Gemstone Bead Shapes

Here you may find gemstone flower beads, star beads and more. Plus gemstone skull beads... lots of and lots of gemstone skulls!

• Carved Calla Lily beads in rose quartz, various shades of jade, and sometimes red creek jasper -- perfect for lovely gemstone earrings!
• Electroplated hematine skull and rose coin beads. These shiny metallic manmade gemstone beads add brilliant color to your Halloween, Day of the Dead, and spring-inspired flowery gemstone jewelry.
• Occasionally we'll have hearts or other fun shaped gemstone beads in this section -- they're usually limited stock, so get them while you can!

Many fun shaped gemstone beads like these on the market today are molded from hematine or/ reconstituted (block) magnesite.

• Hematine is man-made hematite. Like mined hematite, it's heavy and metallic, but manmade hematine can be molded into complex shapes. And since it doesn't have any impurities, it can be electroplated with intense, durable coatings!
• Magnesite is lighter, so if you're looking for large, colorful skull beads, magnesite is an excellent choice. Magnesite is naturally a chalky, porous stone, so you'll often find magnesite dyed to match fashion colors of the year, with creative "new gemstone" names. Do your research -- vividly-colored lightweight gemstones or cheap beads marketed as turquoise are often dyed magnesite. To mold it into complex shapes, first it's crushed, then mixed with colored binders (resins) and pressed into molds. (Frequently there may be more resin than magnesite.) We still carry them, becauase they are fun beads, at great prices!