Thai Silver Beads

Many of the jewelry designs that I create are composed of Thai silver beads and findings. You may ask” What are Thai silver beads, and are they as good as sterling silver beads?” Well…yes actually a bit better as the silver content is usually between 95% and 99%, which is higher than sterling silver at 92.9% silver content. The high silver content makes it soft, and therefore easy to hammer and form into interesting shapes. Thai silver beads are beautifully handcrafted and made by skilled artisans of the Karen Hill tribes of Northern Thailand. These tribes live in villages in the forested, mountain areas near the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar. I find that Thai silver beads have a soft, mellow, satiny silver color, slightly different from sterling silver, and work wonderfully with modern funky designs as well as in pieces that have an earthy organic feel. These beads, charms, bead caps, clasps and pendants usually depict beautiful flowers, insects and small sea creatures, such as fish, turtles and sea stars, as well as traditional elements such as spirals. Pin It