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Some information on Beads Fire polished beads are defined as faceted, cut glass beads that are polished by heating. This is a more expensive process than making pressed glass beads, but is a less expensive process than the polishing done on the finest quality glass beads and all gemstones. Seed beads are smaller, less expensive glass beads. They are generally shaped like a very small donut and can be as small as 1/16" thick to as large as about 1/6" thick. Pressed glass beads are made in the same manner as a milk bottle. Hot glass is forced into a mold to make the bead. This is a less expensive manufacturing process and pressed glass beads are normally rather inexpensive. Lampwork glass beads are hand made beads, normally made on a rod or mandrel, lampwork glass beads tend to have larger holes. Since they are hand made, each lampwork glass bead is unique, although they may be made commercially to look very similar. Making lampwork glass beads involves melting, shaping and combining glass into the shape of the bead. Swarovski Austrian Crystal Beads is the premier manufacturer of cut glass crystal beads. Their beads are know for their uniformity in color and shape, the sharp edges of the faceted beads, and for the vibrant colors. Pony Beads are glass beads with larger holes in them, originally intended to be worn in the hair. Stick-on glass beads are small beads without holes made to be glued or fixed on objects using double sided tape. Pearl beads are beads made by marine mollusks like clams and oysters. There are also many commercially manufactured pearl beads, made by applying a pearl like coating to a glass bead. Gemstone beads are beads made from naturally occurring materials like onyx, amethyst, and many, many other naturally occurring gemstones and minerals. Metal beads are beads that are made out of metal. Generally, silver, gold-filled and silver-tone metals are used. Bali Beads are generally a form of tarnished sterling silver beads made on the Indonesian Island of Bali. Some Bali Beads represent everyday items like a snake, a drum, and a coil of rope. Because of the expense of sterling silver, many Bali-style beads are now made out of a silver tone metal. These beads are made in many countries including South Korea and India. Dichroic glass beads are glass beads made with two or more colors of glass. The colors are highly reflective making these beads very dramatic in appearance. |
WigJig Beads, Jewelry Making Tools, Wire and Jewelry Supplies Home
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| The above descriptions of our jewelry supplies link to our WigJig store and show the department level view of the products in that department. To view detailed information on these products please select either the picture or the name of the product from the department level view. This will navigate you to a page of information dedicated to that individual product and will include information on how many of that item in a package. Our prices for all our jewelry supplies are per package. For some items this may be only one item. For other items it may include more than a thousand beads. |
