The history of bead-making goes back 10,000 years or more with the use of beads as ornamentation reaching all corners of the world. Beads were fashioned from all sorts of natural materials including stones, seeds and pearls. During the 16th century, European craftsmen began producing glass seed beads, and went on to dominate their trade. Our handsome crocodile, created by Guatemalan artisans using Czech glass beads, measures approximately 9 inches long.