So What's Up with Beads
by Phillip Brandt
Please note: All the following is purely the opinion of the Rhinestone Guy.
It doesn't take a genius to see that beads are the thing today! Beads hanging everywhere. Watch TV, and see beads on actresses, models, you name it, beads are being used. Beaded Jewelry, although never completely out of style, is back in big time! We offer complete lines of everything you need to produce your own jewelry in the comfort of your home, and offer ways to turn your hobby into a business. But, let's face it, no matter who you talk to, everyone has an opinion...and since I am doing the writing, it is my opinion that counts here!
Many of you will have no idea what I am talking about were I to just start rattling off this, that, and everything, so first, let's take into account what things are called:
- Bead: any shaped form...whatever, that has a hole in it for stringing, hanging, or sewing. Now, there are all different kinds of beads. In fact, so many, I have to restrict the bead catalog to what we know to be popular in jewelry use, and be affordable to the average buyer. Under beads, you will find the most common are:
- Fire-Polished Beads: These come in many shapes, are glass, NOT lead crystal, are NOT cut, but rather cast and finished off with high heat. These beads are, by far, the most commonly used beads for day to day beading, for fun wear, and for designs worn in the day, by younger bead wearers...these beads are NOT formal in any way, come in a huge assortment of colors, and are, for the price, a fun way to spend time. Fire-Polished beads are available in round or other shapes, but truthfully, we do not like the quality of these beads in anything other than round, faceted beads. The Bi-cones offered in Fire-Polished beads are not particularly pretty, and in all, would be a waste of time stringing. But the round beads have very real place in the Beading Industry. The best Fire-Polished beads are made of Bohemian Glass (Czech Fire-Polished Beads). Fire-polished beads imported from the Far East are not the quality we sell, are often poor in faceting, and in all, not worth the time or money you pay. .... yes, they are cheaper to purchase, but your final jewelry can only be as nice as its components, so why waste the time using unsatisfactory beads when Czech Fire-polished beads are very affordable?
- Czech Table Cut (Machine Cut) Beads: IN our opinion, by far the best buy when high-end work is being done. These beads are Industry standard, have been around for more than a century, and the newest and latest equipment is employed in producing this very fine line of beads. No matter who you are, somewhere along the line, price must be considered in making strands of beads, and here, Czech machine-cut beads take the race by more than just lengths...they win the derby hands down! The actual price difference between Swarovski and Czech Preciosa beads is not that great, for they are of comparable quality...but it is the Eurodollar exchange rate that is the killer here. Swarovski's exchange rate is very high compared to the US dollar, while the Czech Preciosa has maintained an artificially low exchange rate for the year 2008....this may change down the road, but today, the price difference is great! Choose Czech Cut beads where the appropriate color is available. Choose Swarovski only when they offer a color that is not available in Czech Preciosa. Where possible, we prefer the Czech beads for one other reason...they are somewhat harder than Swarovski. Swarovski lead crystal contains up to 37% lead making the crystal softer than the Czech Crystal at 34% lead. Bang around a bracelet and the chances of chipped beads is pretty good using Swarovski, less so with Czech Preciosa. I will admit that the additional lead found in Swarovski makes the color, Crystal (Clear) somewhat brighter, but unless held side by side, no one will be able to see the difference. After all, Bohemian Crystal has been the bench mark of crystal for a very long time. And, truthfully, we like the faceting on the Czech Beads somewhat better...more flashy due to fewer facets. Please note that the relative softness of lead crystal will come into play later in this "dissertation." Lead Crystal has some qualities that must be addressed when stringing beads.
- Swarovski Table Cut (Machine Cut) Beads: Once again, a standard in beading. Swarovski offers several styles of beads, as does Preciosa, but in the same shape, you will often find different faceting available...not that it makes the average beader a great difference, but know that there are different beads of the same shape with more or less facets. More facets may produce a highly glimmering effect up close, but will kill the bead at distance due to shadows developing within the crystal bead. Here, more does not necessarily mean better! Swarovski's prices are going through the ceiling, not on our end, but ... Swarovski's prices are higher than equivalent Czech Preciosa beads, AND Swarovski's Eurodollar Exchange rate is seriously higher. When you compare the prices of equivalent Czech and Swarovski beads, it is very hard to justify the additional expense...and I sell both. But it would be dishonest of me to tell you Swarovski are visually better when I do not believe, for most people, anyone will see the difference...so save your money and buy more Czech beads....better investment. OF course, if you have more money than God, then by all means buy Swarovski...it helps me pay the rent!
- Smooth round Glass Beads: Made everywhere in the world (probably not in the US). Come in all shapes, sizes, qualities, are usually inexpensive, cast beads of any color under the rainbow. Within this group of beads, you find
- Seed Beads: from tiny to decent sized, sizes are in numbers, the lower the number the larger the bead! 6/0, 11/0 are sizes we carry, but please note that you will need a special needle to string this with, called a beading needle due to the small size of the bead's hole. Japanese Seed Beads are hard to find, the difference between Japanese Seed Beads and other Seed Beads is that with Reds, Silvers, Gold...the color will not tarnish over long periods of time, for the metallic reflecting lining is encased in glass, where as normally priced seed beads are simply coated, and over time, can tarnish.
- Shaped Beads: In all sizes you can picture, have specialized uses, and in many cases, you can get around using these beads by making your own wire carriers to contain shapes and sizes of commonly found glass or gems, rocks, whatever.
- Metal Beads: The name leaves little to the imagination. Beads are made from all kinds of metal, be it Sterling Silver to Plated Base Metal. They are produced in many shapes, but usually are round, or tubular. Metal is used at Crimp Beads (the bead is "smashed systematically) to hold it in place. This year, Copper seems to be the metal of choice, but like most fads, once the body turns green from the corrosion, this too shall pass! There is a caution I should add to using any metallic or metal lined bead here: If you wear it, clean it before putting it back in the jewelry case....metal hates acids and oils from the body! The quickest way to tarnish silver, to ruin metal beads, to ruin metal lined beads is to allow body acids to remain in contact with the metallic component. Wash gently, rinse completely, and dry...your beaded creations will last for a very long time...the same is true of rhinestone components....Gold and Platinum are the only metals that are impervious to body acid, and I seriously doubt that anyone here will be purchasing gold or platinum beads! Not at today's prices, at any rate!
- Faceted Beads: These beads are usually Round, Diamond-Shaped (commonly called Bi-Cone Beads), oat seed shaped, Olive shaped, and Pear Shaped...there may be other shapes out there, but these are the most commonly used shapes in Beading. Each bead has facets around the body of the bead, whether it is a cut facet or a Fire-Polished facet, it has planes to reflect light.
- Other Beads: Beads can be made of anything...wood, seeds, Semi-precious or precious stones, ores, you name it, beads are made from it! But they all have one thing in common...they have a hole drilled through them to use in stringing. Wood beads are popular from time to time, Semi-precious beads are always popular, and few of us can afford Sapphire, Emerald, Ruby beads! This is serious money, and the beads you find in this category are few and far between. Many common ores, in nature, have a wonderful look that is hardy...Hematite (iron ore) is used in jewelry often.
- Turquoise is a common bead material, whether shaped into balls or raw and tumbled, it can be used with wonderful effects.
- Pearls are probably one of the best known beads throughout the centuries...freshwater Baroque pearls are not expensive, fun to work with, and can be mixed with other beads for great effects. Today, excellent Glass Pearl Beads are offered by Swarovski and Czech....none of the drawbacks of natural pearls, and quite beautiful to see. These beads are not cheap, by any means, but the are certainly considerably cheaper than real pearls, where a matched string of pearls can run well into the thousands!
- Cubic Zirconium (Zirconia): Although beads are made from this material, the cost far outweighs the advantages, for lead crystal beads reflect almost the same amount of light. BUT, Zirconia is used to make great pendants or chained together for great beading effects where lead crystal will not do the job. Zirconia is slightly harder than glass, so will chip less easily than equivalent glass pendants.
- Rondelle: Any flattened bead or component that separates other beads in the strand, such as Rhinestone Rondelles. Rondelles add an expensive look to beads, and from a design standpoint, can work wonders.
No matter how you look at it, beads are useless without stringing or sewing. As for sewing, that one is easy....beads can be used to embellish any garment by sewing them in place with thread. They can be used in strands to dangle from garments...and the look will be determined by what kind of bead you are sewing on. Bugles are used to embellish in intricate designs, whereas round or shaped beads are used to add flash and glitz...much like rhinestones are used. In fact, combinations of beads and rhinestones are very common in blinging out an outfit.
But, to produce jewelry from beads, beads must be strung in some manner. Beading thread, beading wire, and/or bead "hardware" or "findings" can be used to produce necklaces, bracelets, etc. Only your imagination holds you back. When using wire, stranded wire is the norm. Here, the more strands, the "softer" the wire in its draping qualities, and, conversely, the fewer the strands, the stiffer the wire. Both high stranded and lower stranded have their place. When making up formed shapes and wired "containers, " fewer strands work better. When you want a soft, drape effect, high strand (49 strands) wire works wonderfully. Silk, size for size, is probably the strongest of all beading threads, stronger, size for size, than metal wire! On the average, consider that it will take about 20 pounds pressure to break most strands of beads...that is a lot of weight, more than usually encountered when wearing unless someone intentionally sets out to break your bead strand...in that case, you have my permission to shoot them!
Jump Rings...what they sound like...rings of metal which can be opened to accept bead findings, then closed to form chain-like beads. These are used to "jump" from one strand to another, for connecting hanging items to the strand, etc. They are also used to connect clasps to the strand, and in fact, used in so many ways, we cannot go into it completely here....but it becomes very obvious when working with beads where jump rings are needed. Again, this is not rocket science, it is just fun. Eye Pins have an eye at one end, can be inserted into a bead, then cut to length and another eye formed on the end using appropriate tools. Hanging beads from beaded chains is done in the same way. Head Pins have a flattened or balled end to hang pendants from, then jump rings are used to attach to beaded strands. Add clasps and you are in business. Clasps often use crimp tubes and /or crimp beads to tie off the ends of runs. Crimp tubes hold the beading wire or thread by friction created when a crimp tube is collapsed with use of a crimping tool.
Bails, and other findings...nothing in this game is mysterious. Believe it or not, production of beaded jewelry just makes sense. If you have problems understanding any of this, perhaps one of our books will help you out. These books are clearly illustrated and make life very easy to produce quality beaded jewelry.
We have no samples of beads! The cost of producing sample boards far outweighs the benefit, BUT....for the most part, the Rhinestone Sample Card has almost all colors of beads on it...the colors of rhinestones are the same as available in Beads, although there are a few additional colors offered in Beads that are not offered in Rhinestones. As a result, we will probably limit colors of beads to colors stocked in rhinestones. IF, for any reason, you want another color bead, know bead colors and sizes well enough, you can special order ANY Swarovski or Czech Preciosa bead from us....Special orders are no more than 4 days wait before shipping IF the color is stocked at Swarovski or Preciosa.
Keep in mind that fine beads...Lead Crystal by Swarovski and Czech...are soft, for that is the price paid for fine lead crystal with very high light refractory properties. Because these beads are somewhat soft, you do NOT want to string them so as to touch each other in the stringing process. Real pearls are treated the same way. All those knots you see in a pearl strand are NOT to keep them from going every which way IF the strand breaks, they are there to provide a cushion from pearl to pearl. When stringing high-value beads, it is wise to either knot off each bead (our knotting tool makes this very easy) OR use spacer beads such as 11/0 seed beads between the lead crystal beads....the design potential in using seed beads between lead crystal beads is limitless. OR, use eye pins and form chains of beads, each bead separately held in place with metal. We cannot advise just stringing a bunch of, say, Bicone beads on elastic bead thread and wearing....for in time, the edges that touch adjacent beads, will become chipped. Plan accordingly. We offer a beading tray that does all the measuring for you, lets you see what your strands will look like before you start the beading process. Do not be afraid of designing beaded necklaces or bracelets with hanging beads, wires, or pendants...there are all kinds of joining items to do this with (Jump Rings and Head Pins). Today's fashions also are very "wire" proud...exposed beading wire is part of the design. Memory wire is great for a fast, down and dirty bead job to make bracelets and necklaces...no clasps are needed, the wire itself retains the shape and the resultant beaded item becomes a slip on piece of jewelry. Be aware that memory wire cannot be used with beads having a small hole, but this stuff is great with Fire-Polished beads...simply cut the wire, place the beads on the wire, add caps to each end with glue, and you are finished. Fire-polished beads are much harder than their lead crystal counter parts...you needn't worry about spacing beads, etc. Keep in mind that you are not limited to one shape bead in a strand for jewelry....round beads, bicone beads, rondelles, oat beads, metal beads...all can be used in the same piece for superb designs. Play with beads and you will be hooked...beads are fun, not that expensive, and basically very easy. Do not be afraid of beads, it is really very hard to make a mistake, for if you do not like the finished product, undo it and start over...you lose nothing but a few feet of stringing wire or thread!
Above all, have fun with these things....that is what it is all about.
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