Excitement has run through the Trollbead Collecting
community as a Very Very Very (yes it needed capitals) Rare bead has made its
way to 3 Danish Retailers.
The bead in question is actually a Chess Lock. The thing
that makes this lock so precious is that is has never been officially released.
Trollbeads HQ in Denmark have run Trollbead Academies for a few years now. They
invited retailers to visit them and find out more about the Brand, how they
make the beads and what makes Trollbeads so special. As a special gift they
were given the chance to make decorations on a plain clasp. The idea was that
it gave retailers an idea of some of the work that went into making Trollbeads.
They were then allowed to keep the clasps. In later Academies they were given
the clasp as a gift, but don’t make them.
The only way to get hold of a Chess Lock was to be invited to
an Academy or be given a clasp by someone who didn’t want the one they had.
Chess locks have been sold for in excess of £400 online!
Recently Trollbeads gifted a small number of Chess Locks to
said Danish retailers and they were made available for just a little bit over
the cost of a regular lock (£45 - £50ish) I jumped at the chance of owning a
piece of Trollbead History and a couple of days after placing my order on a
Danish website a very special parcel arrived on my doorstep!
The lock really appeals to me as it isn’t floral or an
animal, decorative without being feminine. It’s slightly smaller than regular
locks, it’s the same size as the new plain clasp and the new Seahorse and
Dolphin locks (I think all the locks are going to start being this smaller size
now) Many people have commented that the locks were quite bulky, so this may
appeal to them. It does mean that bracelets are going to feel a bit tighter
when on though.
The distinction between the squares isn’t as great as I
would like it to be, this lock is quite shiny, I would’ve liked a bit more oxidisation,
but that being said, I love it!
I’m waiting for a very special bead to arrive before I put
together a combination with this lock, but until then here it is compared to my
Mexico Lock and with the lovely Danish Pouch in which it arrived.
Let me know what you think of it?
