Three-Strand Wood Bead Necklace in Cream and Tan

• Three-strand layered design
• Mixed bead shapes and tones
• Lobster-claw clasp
• 3 in adjustable extender

Each bead is cut and finished from natural wood, so grain, shape and tone shift slightly from piece to piece.

Wood beadwork is one of the Philippines' established craft economies — small workshops shaping local hardwoods into beads suited for stringing. The geometric cuts here (flat rectangles, upright tablets, small squares) catch light differently depending on angle, giving a single strand visual movement without any metal or stone.

Layering strands at slightly different lengths is a hallmark of the tradition: a design solution as much as an aesthetic one, letting a workshop use a range of bead shapes and cuts from the same batch of wood in one finished piece.

Each bead is sanded smooth, lightly polished to bring out the grain, then drilled and strung. The balance of the strands is set by eye — a stringer working out spacing and proportion before knotting and attaching the clasp and extender.

• Technique: Wood beadwork

Wipe with a soft, dry cloth after wear and store away from moisture and direct sunlight to protect the wood finish.