Hand Blown Lampwork Glass Heart Beads
Black Cloisonne Beads
Glass beads have a history going back to the Egyptians, Romans, Vikings, and Native Americans. In addition to jewelry, glass beads have also functioned as currency. Amongst the most popular glass beads today are lampwork beads, cloisonné beads, dichroic glass beads, Murano beads, Swarovski crystal beads, and hand-blown glass beads.
There are many ways in which glass beads are formed.
Blown glass beads are made by a glass blower blowing into a glass tube that has a piece of molten glass on the end, turning over repeatedly until the bead reaches the desired size.
Wound beads are made by winding molten glass around a metal wire. The artist then slices and polishes the beads.
A lampwork bead is a wound glass bead that is made by winding molten glass around a copper wire heated over a lamp. Murano beads are lampworked and come from Italy.
Mosaic beads are made entirely of colorful fused segments of glass cane, which is a long drawn rod of glass. These are usually very intricate.
Swarovski crystal beads are composed of leaded glass (crystal) with a very high brilliance. Their original creator, Daniel Swarovski, invented a machine to cut glass in the 1800’s.
Millefiori beads are made of layers of colored glass fused in a cross section and melted onto the surface of a bead. These can have a varied appearance usually abstract or floral.
A cloisonné bead is crafted by affixing a metal wire to the base bead to act as a color separater. A powdered glass enamel is then painted between the partitions. The bead is then fired and polished, then electroplated in a gold or silver film.
Dichroic glass beads are made by depositng vaporized metals onto sheets of glass, which produces beads with wide ribbons of luminous color and an iridenscence.
Pressed glass beads are created by pressing a heated glass rod into a mold and have the widest range of shapes and size.
Czech Fire Polish Glass Beads LILAC Mix
Indicolite Bicone Swarovski Crystal Beads
There are many other types of glass beads available. You’re sure to find your favourite types to work with as you create your beaded works.