UPDATE: Unique Amber 12-Bead Kits - Discontinued!!

UPDATE: May 15, 2008

Trollhound was contacted by a loyal reader who posed the following query:

I'm not sure where you got your info on the amber kits being discontinued...US
Trollbeads corporate told my rep that wasn't true???

Trollhound's response:

You are 100% right. There was a time when they had been deemed for
"discontinuation," but they reversed that decision. Thank you for pointing
that out for me. I am going to go in to the blog and make that
update. I appreciate it VERY much!!

-- Trollhound

If any of our readers discovers anything that causes you to pause and wonder, or if you have information that is different from what we have previously mentioned, please always feel free to send a note and we will research and make any necessary corrections. I appreciate that the readers take the time to write and ask questions.

It is extremely helpful for everyone to remain involved! After all ... we all love Trollbeads!!

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Another collective gasp! from us true Trollbead fans!

The very beautiful 12-bead Amber Kits/Sets are being discontinued, and if you can find one, I suggest you snatch it up. They are very rare and each kit has 12 incredibly beautiful and VERY unique beads. Amber Beads are a true work of art. And the more inclusions, the better. If you are able to find an Amber bead that just looks full of "stuff," you have to take a moment to realize that what you are looking at is a history of our wondrous planet.

Amber is 30-50 million YEARS old. So whatever is fossilized "in" the Amber that Trollbeads uses ... it remains in the bead that you receive. So, when you look into that bead, you have to be a bit awed to realize that you really are looking at our own world history!

If you have the opportunity, I strongly advise you to hunt down and find an Amber 12-Bead Kit/Set that you can lay claim to! I myself have purchased six of them over the past months, but I just might find a way to purchase more. I only know of one online store that currently sells Unique/OOAK Amber 12-Bead Kits/Sets. And, yup! You guessed it! My favorite place to shop!

Go to TrollbeadsGallery.com and view their amazing Amber Kits. If I had the funds (and if I wasn't spending it on Trolls Gold!!), I'd grab another two or three of the sets currently shown on TrollbeadsGallery.com. They are breathtaking and the inclusions are AMAZING (especially set #10)!

A few bits interesting of Amber history is copied below. Read it, and then go find yourself some Danish Gold!!

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AMBER AND MAGIC
In days gone by, amber was acclaimed to possess the power of healing. Worn as a necklace or charm, or carried around in small bags, amber was believed to be a remedy against such ailments as gout, rheumatism, sore throats, toothache and stomach-ache. It was also believed that amber accelerated birth and was a good remedy against snake bites. To guard against the swapping of a new born baby, the infant it was often given an amber necklace to wear. Amber was supposed to contain magical powers, which is why heart shaped amber charms were carried to offer protection against evil forces and help against witchcraft.

AMBER FACTS

• During the Roman times, higher prices were paid for small amulets in amber than for healthy slaves.


• In 79 AD, Plinius wrote that the women of northern Italy wore amber beads against thyroid.


• Martin Luther carried a piece of amber in his pocket as a protection against kidney stones.


• In ancient China it was customary to burn amber during large festivities. This practice both signified the wealth of the host as well as honoring the guests.


• According to Mohammed, a true believer's prayer beads should be made of amber. The father of healing, Hippocrates, declared amber active against a number of diseases including delirium tremens.


• Over 2500 years ago, Thales of Miletos discovered that when amber was rubbed against cloth, sparks were produced and then the amber attracted husks and small wooden splinters. This force was given the name "electricity" after the Greek word electron which means amber.


• Amber increases in value with the rarity and perfection of the entrapped object. Complete insect specimens are rare though and command top price.

Gold! Gold! Gold! Gold! (Did I Mention GOLD?)

Ah, the whimsy and joy of Trollbeads. If this game is played properly - with respect for the people who BUY the products - Trollbeads can be the great jewelry find of our lifetimes. Such fabulous opportunities for self-expression, such glorious colors, amazing designs, so .... shiny!! However, if they turn the cards down in glee, shooting for a win with a full-house, all the while trouncing on the customers that got them where they are now, that fragile house of cards could crumble all around the corporate infrastructure that calls itself "Trollbeads."

Here's the deal: have you ever wanted Troll's Gold? Now's the time. (By the way, Troll's Gold is nothing at all like "Fools Gold." Troll's Gold actually has great value - and beauty! And it's shiny!)

As I alluded to previously, prices are going up. "Going up?" you say? "Yeah, yeah, I hear you." Well, I'm not so sure that I've really gotten the point across about the actual degree that it needs to be heard. Here's what "Going UP" actually means when I'm talking about Troll's Gold: 40%. "Did you hear that, Lucy?" "Yes, Ethel, you said 40%."

If you have ever had a taste for, a burning yearning for, Troll's Gold ... now is the time. And if you fear that you might be in line to catch a good case of "Troll's Gold Fever" - or that it's even got potential for EVER landing in your life - I suggest you take out a second mortgage and grab some Troll's Gold. If you wait, you might need to sell your husband and the kids (but always keep the dog) to afford the purchase of even one piece. Come to think of it, keep the kids and the dog, but sell the husband anyway. Trollbead Gold is more fun!

Now, listen up. I am a firm believer in paying the piper. (In this case, the piper is "Trollbeads, Inc.") Trollbeads created these things I obsess over, and they deserve to reap the rewards of their creations' successes. However, running through the fields and chopping the knees of those of us who have helped to lift them to their current (and rather lofty) status is not good. We earned the right to speak up a bit if we are about to be whacked with a 40% increase.

But, don't worry. Too much. Everything that is under the Trollbeads umbrella is not going up 40%. Take heart! It appears that the glass beads will only increase a mere 20%. (By the way, that "only" is said with tongue planted in cheek). So, let's see ... that means that glass Trollbeads will be going up ... to about $25.00. That's about what I predicted.

The announcement on the GOLD prices however, still has me in complete and total $ticker $hock.

MORE New Unique OOAK Beads at TrollbeadsGallery.com!

Just a quick post to help pass the word that I just saw a bunch of new Unique/One-of-a-Kind (OOAK) Trollbeads have been posted at TrollbeadsGallery.com!

Over the past couple of days, I've gotten a few newsletters from some online Trollbead stores, and everyone seems to be posting new OOAK beads. Not a prolem for me! Those Trolls must be hard at work getting their designs "down pat" for the new releases!

But, no matter where I go (online), or who's site I'm looking at, it always seems that TrollbeadsGallery.com has the most fabulous selection.

I even like browsing their "What Might Have Been" section; so I can see what Imissed. Sometimes it makes me frustrated that I wasn't there at that exact moment when that bead was posted for sale; but usually I find myself just excited to discover what new possibilities might be around the corner for us Trollbead Fans!

I've already snatched up a few from TrollbeadsGallery.com, so I don't mind sharing and sending everyone else that way.

Or, in a more direct statement: I got mine - you go get yours! :-)