Carnelian, old bead, much worn. Carnelian, or Cornelian, is reddish-brown Chalcedony. An attractive, useful gemstone, it has been used in jewellery and in decorative work for thousands and thousands of years. This particular bead has probably come only a hundred years or so since its fashioning in Afghanistan.
Cornelian has always been a favourite gemstone in that part of Central Asia, in the “Stans”, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan. The source of Cornelian in that part of the world has always been Gujerat in west India, where AGrade Cornelian has been mined since antiquity.