I'm wondering if heraldic colors work well for viking inspired bead strings because of the need for contrast in making a heraldic device. Including both "metals" (yellow and white) and non metals ensures there will be both light and darker colors that contrast well. I happen to think that these three colors work very well together, and as a result, this necklace was a pleasure for me to design and make.
The polychrome beads are based on period Scandinavian beads that I first made several months ago for a largesse gift.
http://elysabethunderhill.blogspot.com/2015/02/viking-glass-bead-tokens.html
You can see that I've used the leftmost first two beads from the above link. By changing only one of the three colors on each bead I was able to make them work with Ysmay's heraldic colors.
I tried to bring a bit of period "randomness" into an otherwise modern symmetrical stringing by alternating which color annular bead (yellow or red) is next to the blue melon bead.
