Glass Beads @ Jewel Info 4 U
By: Bina Shaji Kurup
Glass beads are colorful , vibrant
and have a history dating back to
more than 5000 years. The tiny ray
of light captured and reflected by
glass makes for eye-catching
vibrancy. They are usually available
in all the colors one can imagine.
Since glass is malleable, these
beads come in dozens of different
shapes - from perfect round to long
ovals to animal shapes. Glass beads
come in every size and several
finishes like metallic polish,
lacquered, iridescent and more.
There are even imitation pearls made
of glass and glass beads which look
like stone beads. And while one may
think that glass beads are cheap -
there are glass beads which are
expensive too - especially the
crystal beads.
Glass Beads Treatments
 In order to give glass beads
attractive colors, they are treated
to different coatings to achieve
distinctive looks. Some beads have
surface coatings - where colors are
sprayed onto the beads after the
beads are made, these polishes can
be metallic, plastic or even
fluorescent. Other beads are coated
with colors in the centre of the
bead (called Lined Beads) - the
centre coating in the bead can be
erased by the thread used to string
the beads after a period of time.
Glass beads which have silver lining
at the centre too, after a while
becomes black. Since glass measures
low on the MOHS scale, it can easily
be scratched leaving the beads ugly
and ruining the effect of the piece.
Fire Polishing of Glass beads
One way to ensure your beads last
for a longer while is to confirm
that they are Fire-polished. This is
a technique whereby beads are first
encrusted with the required coating
and then they are pulled through
high temperatures, melting the
surface of the glass bead ensuring
the coating bonds with the glass
making it permanent (although some
coating materials can still be
removed easily just by peeling it
with your fingernails) This method
is also used to add shine to plain
glass beads. The disadvantage of
using Fire-polished beads is that
the melted bead may not be smooth
and will have a grainy finish, which
can give a unusual look to jewellery
or make it look absolutely
amateurish - this will largely
depend on what design and what
ornament you are planning to make.
In fact fire-polished glass beads
should be used for making economical
beaded jewellery, which you wear for
a while, get bored and make a new
piece.Formulated glass beads
Several types of formulated glass
which are heavier, more resistant to
heat, are used to make glass beads -
Dichroic glass, Furnace Glass,
Borosilicate glass (glass used to
manufacture microwave safe
containers) lead glass (used to
manufacture crystal glass beads with
facets and high brilliance), rod
glass, sheet glass, even small fine
colored rods, dots and glass dust
etc. Regular glass you see on
windows is not normally used to make
glass beads because it does not have
any additives to make it strong
enough to withstand the entire
process of making beads.
Choosing glass bead jewellery can be
a mind-boggling task since there are
dozens of different beads - right
from crystal, lamp worked, seed,
Dichroic etc. Made of sand and soda
mixed with lime, glass has
captivated the imagination of
artisans all over the world - Asian
countries, Italians and more
recently the Americans. Although the
essential ingredients are the same,
there are several techniques and
types of glass to make the beads.
The method, type of glass and the
finish determines the final look of
the bead and its price.
Glass seed beads, extremely common,
are made by several countries -
Czech, Japan, India, France and
Italy to name a few. These beads are
usually tiny and come in a range of
sizes ( all small sizes usually less
than 6mm) and different shapes. The
Japanese variety is more expensive
than the ones from India since the
finish is superior, beads are
uniform and the colors are durable.
Czech beads are slightly imperfect
and this flaw gives jewellery a look
that bespeaks character. Seed beads
are great for delicate beaded
jewellery and are widely available
both at stores and on the web.
Dichroic Glass beads
Dichroic glass beads are essentially
beads made of Dichroic glass. Here
glass is coated with several thin
layers - either metal coatings or
others in a vacuum. These beads have
the ability to reflect and transmit
light giving rise to a beautiful
play of colors. These beads are more
expensive than the regular
fire-polished beads because the
Dichroic glass manufacturing process
is more complex and requires
specialized machinery to achieve the
reflecting ( colors seen in front )
and transmitting (the mirror-image
or opposite colors of the reflected
colors) effect on glass.
So how does glass become into beads
? First the glass is heated till it
becomes malleable. Then it is either
wound around a metal wire (Wound
Glass Beads) or the molten glass is
drawn out with a bubble at the
centre to serve as the hole (Drawn
Glass Beads - Seed beads, Chevron
beads are made in this method).
Others have moulds with needles at
the centre to make the hole, hot
glass rods are pressed into them and
the needles make the hole at the
centre (Pressed or Molded Beads).
Pressed beads can have different
shapes depending on the molds. The
most difficult method is the blown
glass method, where hot glass is
placed at one end of the blower and
then manually blown into to make the
bead.
Lampwork beads
The popular Lampwork beads are made
by the wound glass method - so
called because traditionally lamps
were used to heat the glass surface
- are glass beads which are first
made by winding molten glass around
metal wires and then fine shards of
colored glass are fused onto it
either during the winding process or
later by re-heating the glass beads.
Other examples of Wound Glass beads
are Mosaic beads (several small
pieces of colored glass are fused
together to get beautiful, exotic
look glass beads) Millefiori beads
have layers of colored glass coated
in sections over the bead giving
rise to unusual patterns.
The hot beads are then rolled in hot
sand to make them even or re-heated
to coat them. Sometimes metallic
dust or even enamel powder is used
to coat the hot beads and even paint
is applied as a coating to make the
beads eye-catching.
Whether you like them smooth like
silk or with uneven edges, glass
beads are great when you need a
casual look without spending too
much
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