Buying a lampwork bead

Buying a lampwork bead

Lampwork beads can be individually made by an artisan or mass produced (usually in Asia).

Artisan made beads are usually larger than mass produced beads, and are one of a kind. It is almost impossible to reproduce a hand made artisan bead. It you want fill-in beads between expensive handmade beads, the mass produced beads are very useful.

When buying a glass bead, look for the following -

• Has the bead release been cleaned out from the hole? If left in it may corrode your beading wire, or the powder could come off onto your jewellery and you.

• Are there sharp edges around the bead hole?? If there are sharp edges, they may eventually cut through your beading wire.

• Hold the bead to the light and look for any cracks. Lampwork beads sometimes crack in the cooling down phase due to stresses in the glass, especially if different materials are incorporated into the glass (ie silver foil, cubic zirconias)

• Have the beads been annealed? Annealing is the process whereby the beads are heated to about 500⁰ Celcius, held there for at least an hour, then the temperature very slowly reduced to room temperature over 4 to 6 hours. This process toughens the glass bead. An annealed bead can often bounce when dropped on concrete whereas a bead not annealed will usually smash. Artisan lampworkers almost ALWAYS anneal their beads.