Posts Tagged ‘beads’
Thursday, December 3rd, 2009
Strange question, huh? But if you think about it, how do you know if something’s a bead? I tried defining ‘beads’:
A bead is a small solid item with a hole through it, intended for stringing on a cord or string. That’s a start… Just below, I’ll free-associate about the main characteristics of beads, as I see them.
Beads
Beads have pretty much two types of shapes:
- On one hand, you’ve got geometrical beads. (And really, isn’t round the totally classic bead shape?)
- On the other hand, I’d say you have representational beads. (Ones that are shaped like some other object–moons, birds, angels…)
How bead hole sizes measure up
Beads have hole sizes that range from really narrow (think of pearls & seed beads) to very large (sometimes even taking up most of the bead, like with pony beads). Hand-in-hand with this is the choice of stringing materials, ranging all the way from super-slender silk thread to really stout leather cord for large-hole beads.
The materials beads are made from are almost unlimited. I say beads can only be made from solids, though. (I’ve never seen one made from a liquid, a gas or a plasma! But I imagine somebody really good at physics is going to prove me wrong.) The way I think of it, beads are made from 3 kinds of materials…
The most ancient beads I’ve heard of were made from seashells and eggshells, about 100,000 years ago. This makes them apparently the oldest form of jewelry. Other natural materials get made into beads, too. I can think of bone, horn, wood, plant stems, seeds, nuts, and dried sap, not to mention organic stuff that’s become a fossil (like amber and jet). These would be considered to be gemstones…
…Which is a word that usually means inorganic bead material. Not just inorganic, but with…let me pause to breathe here…a pleasingly regular crystalline structure. So the word ‘gemstone’ basically means tough stuff from the earth instead of from living organisms. Examples of gemstones often made into beads include turquoise, jet, amethyst, jasper, and rhyolite, etc. etc. etc.
A third category of bead materials is artificial stuff. Not everything is organic or inorganic! Lots of materials are created through a manufacturing process: plastics, metals (which bead people have a habit of dividing into base-metal versus precious). Glass has got to be the most common artificial bead material, of course. Think of how many types there are… blown glass, fused glass, powder glass, crystal (Swarovski makes about a million kinds), lampwork glass, and on and on.
Where do beads come from?
Countries of origin: beads run quite a geographical range, which I kind of think reflects the role they’ve played in prehistory & history. Africa is where the oldest beads came from. A bit more recent would be pre-Columbian stuff from the Americas. Very old historic beads come from the Middle East and Mediterranean regions. In more modern times, Murano island, in Venice, supplied mass quantities of “trade” beads to be used in Africa and other ‘colonial’ regions. The bead-making industry spread through Europe (you know about Czech and Austrian glass beads), Japan (where
most seed beads are made), the U.S., and Israel (where a lot of silver beads are made).
References for bead information include a number of print sources as well as certain reputable websites. Two of the main bead book and magazine publishers that come to my mind are Interweave and Kalmbach.
Have you ever stopped & thought, “What is a bead?” Share your take on this question below!
Tags: bead definition, beads, interweave publishing, kalmbach publishing, what is a bead
Posted in beads | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009
In case you haven’t caught the newest BeadStyle mag yet…
“What are Trade Beads?”
OF the many possible answers to this question (asked on pp. 60-61 of BeadStyle’s January 2010 issue), my favorite is “Beautiful and full of character!” R&T stuff that’s featured in Jane Konkel’s necklace-and-bracelet set includes these glass noodle trade beads. Pair them up with 7mm red “white hearts”, silver Bali-style spacers and sterling toggle clasps. Other supplies: beading wire, crimping beads, G-S Hypo Cement & Gossamer Floss™ elastic. Add Lois Sherr Dubin’s The History of Beads (for your reading list) & browse the full line of great R&T trade beads for more!
“Bakery Bracelet”
RINGS & THINGS’ own designer, Toni Plastino, created this cute bracelet design on pp. 82-83 of BeadStyle’s January 2010 issue. Begin with tiny ceramic cupcake & donut beads, and set them off with 6mm CRYSTALLIZED™ (Swarovski) round beads. Other R&T components: your favorite style & specialty finish of disk-and-loop bracelet blanks, 1.5″ thin headpins, 5mm jumprings, metal 3mm round spacers, ear wires and Super New Glue.
Has your jewelry made with R&T stuff been spotted in public? Let us know, leave a note below!
Tags: african beads, bakery bracelet, beading wire, beads, beadstyle, bracelet blanks, ceramic beads, ceramic donut beads, ceramic doughnut beads, craft adhesives, craft glues, crimp beads, cupcake beads, disk and loop bracelets, doughnut beads, ear wires, earring wires, earwires, glass beads, gossamer floss, gs hypo cement, head pins, headpins, history of beads, jump rings, jumprings, lois sherr dubin, metal spacers, noodle beads, round crystal beads, silver spacer beads, silver spacers, silver toggle clasps, spacer beads, super new glue, swarovski round beads, swarovski rounds, tiny cupcake beads, tiny donut beads, tiny doughnut beads, toggle clasps, trade beads, white heart beads
Posted in As seen in, Rings & Things products, beads | 2 Comments »
Tuesday, December 1st, 2009
January Birthstone poem – the Garnet:
"By her who in this month was born..."
"...No gem save garnets shall be worn..."
"...They will ensure her constancy..."
"...True friendship, and fidelity."
For a range of garnet bead styles and prices, browse our secure online store!
And for sterling-quality precious-bead info, read our Gemstone Beads Index.
Tags: beads, birthstone beads, garnet beads, garnet birthstone, gemstone beads index, january birthstone
Posted in beads, birthstones | 2 Comments »
Friday, November 6th, 2009
Crystal fans — heads up!
We can all expect to see small increases in the price of CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements over the next few months.
Still pennies per crystal bead!
Why?
- The value of the Dollar against the Euro continues to worsen.
- Materials costs continue to rise.
- For nearly a year, Swarovski held the currency surcharge at the same level, despite the fall of the Dollar. But in late October Swarovski announced they are increasing the surcharge, thus making Crystallized Elements by Swarovski cost more for all US distributors and retailers.
The effects of the surcharge increase, plus an expected across-the-board price increase from Swarovski in early 2010, will ripple through the jewelry and bead markets as new goods arrive or as vendors implement across-the-board price changes.
Rest assured, Rings & Things plans to keep bringing you genuine Swarovski crystals at the best prices possible!
Tags: bead prices, beads, crystal prices, CRYSTALLIZED - Swarovski Elements, crystals, Swarovski, Swarovski beads, swarovski crystals, swarovski pendants
Posted in Rings & Things products, Trendspotting | 5 Comments »
Wednesday, November 4th, 2009
This week’s featured beads, just in time for the holiday season, are crystal snowflakes.
Bright stuff coming down!
These crystal pendants are the classic Swarovski #6704 style, perennially popular for the way they gently glisten.
Make your list now, and check it twice! You have enough time to stock up some great styles for Christmas and Hanukkah shoppers.
Like real snowflakes, these come in many forms. Sizes are 20mm, 25mm, 30mm and 35mm — in other words, from nearly an inch to an inch-and-a-half. Choose from “pure” crystal, crystal AB (aurora borealis coating), and crystal/moonlight (also coated).
Crystal snowflakes fit for a princess
PS: You can also get new snowflake beads in raku, as well as other styles. Merry browsing!
Tags: beads, cinderella at midnight necklace, crystal snowflakes, Featured Bead, let it snow necklace, snowflake beads, swarovski 6704, swarovski snowflakes
Posted in Featured Bead, Rings & Things products, beads | No Comments »
Monday, July 13th, 2009
The humble but endlessly useful spacer bead comes into the spotlight this time…
4mm flower spacer beads
What would you do without these? Spacer beads are the unsung heroes of jewelry making. While other beads are the focus of attention and the center of your designs, spacers hold them in place. Spacers help make your beads and your stringing material match up in length. Flower spacers, like these, pretty up the corners just enough to maintain a certain visual feel throughout the jewelry piece.
In the understated spirit of flower spacers, I’m showing you just two examples, both in demure multi-purpose antiqued silver finish. Both are Bali-style spacers, made by the reliable TierraCast company, with holes large enough to work with most cords.
6mm flower spacers
Whatever color of metal they are, whatever size they are, and whatever pattern adorns them, we salute the flower spacers of the world! Stock up on a good selection and you’l be able to make any design inspiration come to life.
Have a favorite spacer, or a personal tip for using them? Leave a comment!
DON’T MISS OUR June-July giveaway:
* in our online store, find a fave product & review it there, then…
* …leave a comment about it at the contest article in our blog
* On August 3, five winners will receive coveted Rings & Things gift certificates!
* Enter often & see if you win!
Tags: antiqued pewter beads, bali style spacers, beads, Featured Bead, flower spacers, spacer beads, tierracast spacers
Posted in Featured Bead, Rings & Things products | 6 Comments »
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
They say the name comes from the Greek for “fingernail”. I guess our featured bead does resemble the fingernails of some Gothic types I’ve known!
It would be a grave slight if I didn’t feature black onyx beads in this space. These are a true standby for jewelry designers, with their lustrous gloss and their dark versatility. They’re available in a huge range of styles!
Black onyx beads in a round, 4 millimeter style
If you’re shopping more to stock up your bead arsenal, with no particular designs in mind yet, try black onyx rounds like the 4-millimeter jobbies shown above. By the way, that size is about 6 to the inch. The smallest rounds that you’re likely to find are 3mm (or 8 to the inch); you can get bigger sizes like 6mm, 8mm and up.
Black onyx rounds are a classic bead for certain basics, like evening jewelry or the rosary market. But they look great in higher-fashion environments too! Check out this “Blackberry Necklace” design from Rings & Things’ ever-popular Design Gallery:
The Blackberry necklace, from our Design Gallery
Don’t stop with the smooth rounds, though — faceted rounds of black onyx are some gorgeous beads! Look at how these, in the 6mm size (4 to the inch), catch the light:
Black onyx, 6mm faceted round beads
And other styles, like black onyx tube beads, have lots of promise:
4x13mm black onyx tube beads
I’ll leave you with one last inspiration. One of my favorites in the Design Gallery is the Cute Cubes Squared necklace, which uses various black onyx beads in a dazzling way:
Cute Cubes Squared
I’d love to hear about your own discoveries that you’ve made while designing with black onyx beads!
Leave them in a comment, below!
Tags: beads, black onyx beads, black onyx faceted rounds, black onyx rounds, black onyx tubes, blackberry necklace, cute cubes squared, design gallery, Featured Bead, gemstone beads, onyx beads
Posted in Featured Bead, beads | 4 Comments »
Friday, June 12th, 2009
This week’s featured bead is a huge favorite…
Coin pearls are worth their weight in money!
Coin pearls are loved for a lot of good reasons.
They go great on bracelets, since they’re pretty flat. That nacreous, mother-of-pearly surface feels nice against your skin. And these days, with the booming cultured freshwater-pearl industry, you can get a strand of coin pearls that are neatly matched in shape and size — at a great price.
Besides the luminous-colored offerings in our online store that you see sampled here, you’ll always find our latest purchases of new styles and hues if you attend our BeadTour bead shows. Make sure you’re on our mailing list to get invited!
Have a favorite way to use coin pearls in your designs? Share your inspiration in a comment below!
Tags: bead shows, beads, beads wholesale, BeadTour, buy beads, buy coin pearls, buy pearls, coin pearls, coin pearls wholesale, Featured Bead, freshwater pearls, pearl beads, pearls wholesale
Posted in Featured Bead, beads | 4 Comments »
Monday, June 1st, 2009
Because July’s birthstones are a motley crew (see the end of this post), I’m picking out just one of them to feature, since there’s so much to know about turquoise!
July's featured birthstone: turquoise
Turquoise is the modern, more often seen replacement for the traditional July “Foundation stone”, sardonyx. I’d like to start out by showing you some of the affordable genuine turquoise beads that are available. (I’ll try to show similar-sized beads to make comparison easier.)
For the highest-quality birthstone jewelry, use AA-grade turquoise (natural turquoise) like these delicate 2mm rounds:
Also excelling in their class are A- to B-grade turquoise (stabilized turquoise) beads such as these nice Kingman heishi:
Good Mexican turquoise is also sometimes available. It’s often in nugget forms, like these extra-small beads:
Another variety of genuine turquoise, which is available reasonable prices, is stabilized Chinese turquoise. To illustrate this type, let’s look at some 2-3mm rounds:
For even greater economy, and a wider color range to work with, try some other stones that are called turquoise.
There’s African turquoise (actually a kind of jasper!), like these 3×5mm tubes:
Yellow turquoise (more likely a jasper or serpentine) is a pleasingly-colored stone often imported from China, like these 4mm rounds: 
Block turquoise is manmade from plastic resins and dyes. So it’s often one of the more affordable varieties, like these low-priced 2mm rounds: 
You might also be interested in our economically-priced “turquoise” magnesite. It’s a thrifty alternative and still looks pretty, like these 4mm rounds:
Finally, consider some other stones in the turquoise family (which you can read about in our Gemstone Beads Index). There’s apple-green turquoise and lime turquoise, for example. You can often find specially purchased, special-priced strands of these and similar stones at Rings & Things’ BeadTour bead shows…another great reason to attend when we’re in your town!
Other July birthstones run the gamut: ruby (also Summer’s birthstone), synthetic corundum, emerald (for Cancer), onyx (for Leo), and topaz (St. Matthew’s stone).Thanks once again to Bruce G. Knuths’ “Jeweler’s Resource” book for all of this information!
Tags: a- to b-grade turquoise, aa-grade turquoise, african turquoise, apple-green turquoise, beads, birthstone beads, birthstones, block turquoise, chinese turquoise, composite turquoise, july birthstones, lime turquoise, mexican turquoise, natural turquoise, turquoise, turquoise beads, turquoise magnesite, yellow turquoise
Posted in birthstones | 4 Comments »
right up front – - here’s what brought the question up: