Believe it or not, the long beads on the blue and pink necklace-earrings sets are wound paper. To make the beads, I cut reams of paper into very long triangles and then wound them tightly on a specially made jewerly tool. After that, I glued them and lacquered them repeatedly to attain that shiny gloss and added a little sprinkle of silver glitter. I also added fine crystals for a touch of elegance. BTW, the company no longer manufactures these crystals beads and has forbidden the use of their brand name, or even their country of origin, in advertising. I can tell you this, however, do a simple search for Europe's finest crystal and the name will pop up immediately. The price quoted is for each the complete blue or pink suite, but each necklace and set of earrings is available for $25.