Making a bead chocker

In the winter I really like to wear large pieces of jewerly as they fit better against wool sweaters and so forth. I tend to wear turtlenecks and scarfs as I do tend to freeze a lot.
When I was younger, my mother had a chocker necklace in black. I really liked it, and now I decided to try my hand at making this type of a chocker, with black beads.

Then, for a bit of color, I added a glass pendant with a lot of color against a black backdrop. The beads are braided, but I do not know what the technique is called. It makes for very firm and at the same time elegant knots.

Beads in a square pattern

I saw a piece that used a similar techinque and I was inspired. So I took the idea and ran with it. Love the result. Apologize for the picture quality, still trying to get the hang of my new camera! 

Earrings are in the same design, almost.