Crackle beads 8mm

[Chezz]

I have a couple of questions about R & T's 8mm Crackle Beads please.

Are all the beads on the strands fully crackled? Sounds silly I know but previously when I have purchased chinese crackle beads (elsewhere), I have found half of them to be hardly cracked if at all. This was really annoying as they cannot be used, therefore a waste of money.

The other question is their size regularity and weather or not they are a full circle or a little flattened on the ends? The other lot I purchased elsewhere were irregular in shape and not full circles, in other words not the best quality.

So before I go ahead and purchase these beads in bulk I would just like to make sure first on the quality and the things I mentioned.

Thank you,

Chezz

[WriteBrainedWoman]

I had never really thought to look for those particular aspects on the crackle beads before, Chezz, so your great questions prompted me to pull out a few strands for closer inspection.

I can assure you that they are indeed fully round - the only problem you will see with the ends (the area around the holes) is that it will be a little bit matte and rather colorless in about a 1-2mm diameter around the hole - this is simply from the beads rubbing against each other on the strand; because the color is coated onto these beads, rather than being placed in the molten glass, that bead-to-be friction rubbed off the color in those places. This should not be visible when the beads are strung, but might be a concern if you put the bead on a head pin and want it to look perfect around the pin head.

As to the crackling, on all the strands I examined, I would say about 85% are what you would call completely crackled - but they do all have some degree of crackling (none is just a clear bead).

I do want to reiterate the the color is coated on, which we do mention in the online store and catalog - if you're planning to use them on a bracelet directly against the wrist, the color will rub off over time. Ditto for rosaries. They should do fine with other uses though.