Chevron beads have been in production in Venice and Murano Italy since the late 1400's. They were taken to Africa and used as currency to trade with the local African population. The red, white and blue Chevrons below were introduced into West Africa by Dutch merchants.

This is a whole strand of Chevrons used in the 1800's. Venetian Chevrons are drawn beads made from glass canes. These glass canes are created in star molds. The early Chevron beads were made with glass canes that consisted of 7 layers. These layers featured alternating colors. The core is produced from a molten ball of glass which is initialy melted and shaped in a furnace. The next step is to blow through opening at the end of the blow pipe into this molten core so that an opening is produced.