Check Mate! :D

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?