The Return to Our Roots: Redefining Luxury Through Beads

Have you ever had the feeling that you know something intuitively — you just haven’t yet read into it deeply enough to discover why you feel the way you do?

That is me and beads.

For a long time, I have felt oddly connected to them — and almost outraged at their unfair placement in the world of luxury jewellery. Unfair placement? Try lack of placement and recognition altogether.

I have often wondered why we turn to beads when it comes to spiritual jewellery — which, I would argue, is the most significant and meaningful form of adornment we can wear, for the connection it creates between the physical world we live in and the spiritual beings we are. Yet when it comes to luxury jewellery, we choose to drape — and frankly, strangle — ourselves with pieces dripping in a legacy of abuse, unethical practices, ecological destruction, and the old oppressive narratives that saw women as mere objects of adornment.

At what point did we stop believing in the beauty of true creativity and artistry? When did we begin trading our deeply rooted connection with beads for more expensive materials like gold — abandoning our shared human story and global culture in favour of status and spectacle?

It turns out our relationship with beads predates our relationship with any form of metalwork.

Archaeological finds across Africa — including in Morocco and South Africa — reveal that humans have been wearing beads for over 75,000 years.

By contrast, gold only entered our lives around 6,000–7,000 years ago as one of the earliest metals we began to work with. That means for the vast majority of our existence, we have formed our connection to adornment through beads.

You might be wondering — this applies to bone and shell beads, but where do glass seed beads come into the story?

It may surprise you to learn that glass seed beads have existed for around 4,000–5,000 years, emerging in Egypt, India, and ancient Mesopotamia. India quickly became one of two major centres for glass bead production globally.

These tiny jewels were used for everything from trade and currency to the creation of intricate works of art for royalty. They travelled the world long before gold became the universal hallmark of wealth and power.

Working with these gem-like beads reignites a deeply meaningful global heritage — one rooted in creativity, connection, and the earliest expressions of human artistry.

While glass seed beads were, at times, entangled in colonial trade, they have largely been exchanged throughout history as symbols of craftsmanship and cultural exchange — gifted, traded, and cherished as tokens of identity and artistry.

Their creation is not rooted in violence or environmental devastation. The artistry of beadwork — the careful threading, weaving, and storytelling — reflects patience, skill, and soul.

So why, in a so-called civilised and intelligent society, do we still celebrate gold as the pinnacle of luxury? Gold, whose history is inseparable from colonial exploitation, forced labour, modern-day abuse, environmental destruction, cultural erasure, and yes — at points — even genocide.

How much longer will we continue to make excuses for our choices, seeking external approval?

When will we take it upon ourselves to redefine what luxury truly means?

Slowly but surely, we already are. As more people raise their standards — choosing slow, sustainable creation and materials that honour the planet — we are returning to those that speak a language older than words.

Materials like glass seed beads, which connect artistry, culture, and humanity.

Choosing glass seed beads and honouring traditional beadwork is not a trend.

It is a return to our roots — a reconnection with the original art of adornment, and the creation of a future defined by sustainable, meaningful, and truly luxurious jewellery.

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