Frankie Triple-Strand Wood Bead Necklace

• Triple-strand layered design
• Graduated color transition
• Matte hand-painted finish
• Adjustable slide closure
• Lightweight wood construction

Each bead is hand-cut from natural wood and hand-painted in small batches, so slight variation in size, color and grain from one piece to the next is normal.

Wood beadwork is a longstanding export from the Philippines, where island workshops turn local woods like buri, acacia and kamagong into beads and jewelry components. The Philippines has built expertise in cutting, sanding and finishing wood into the smooth ovals used here.

The graduated color blocking — cream giving way to mustard and then gray — comes from small-batch hand-painting, so neighboring strands sit in complementary but never identical tones. The flat oval plaques at the shoulders are shaped from the same wood stock, keeping the piece visually consistent from clasp to strand.

Each bead is cut and shaped on a lathe or by hand, sanded smooth, then hand-coated in small batches of paint and cured before stringing. The three strands are knotted onto wax cord in graduated sequence and finished with an adjustable sliding closure.

• Technique: Hand-painted wood beadwork

Remove before applying perfume or lotion, and before water. Keep out of direct sunlight, and refresh the matte finish occasionally with a drop of oil on a soft cloth.