The Coming of Beads

As jewelry artists and beaders our main material are beads. Bead making has been a highly valued skill throughout the world from earliest recorded times. In Ancient Egypt bead making was divided into specialist guilds according to the materials and technique used, and a similar system is used in modern India. Techniques invented by the Egyptians and Romans are still in use today and many skills have been shrouded in secrecy for centuries; the death penalty was even incurred for divulging trade secrets in Renaissance Venice. In Jablonec, the bead center of Czechoslovakia, the export of beads is severely rationed, despite high demand; in a typical factory there are only 80 skilled workers capable of producing 240 pieces each day.

Hand-worked beads
Early beads were made from substances used for other purposes such as bones from hunted animals and offcuts of stone tools. The rough carving and flaking techniques derived from making other implements. Many beads today are handmade, from sea shells cut and polished from the Pacific beaches, to porcelain beads designed in European markets.

Piecing Beads
Once shaped, a bead is pierced to make the hole. A cone-shaped hold, drilled in from both sides, is a sign of great age often seen in Pre-Columbian beads. Hand-wound glass beads are constructed around a metal wire which when removed leaves a hole.

Mass Production
The most seen today and cheapest in manufacturing of beads is the mass production. Cheap materials such as glass allowed everyone through-out the ages to have wares of beads. The Renaissance saw a great increase in mass production for export and today thousands of wooden beads are turned on lathes. The invention of molding produced perfectly shaped identical beads, easily recognized by a telltale seam between the poles and around the girth of a bead. In 1895 Daniel Swarovski invented an automatic process for cutting quantities of quality glass beads. Even today, the method is so guarded that workers do not have access to different parts of the factory.

Finishing
Once shaped, most beads are tumbled in a revolving cask to remove the molded seam and smooth or add polish. Substances added to the cask produce different effects; garnet paper or find sandpaper polishes wood, leather gives a soft shine to plastic. The concentric layers of colored glass in multi-tone beads rub away in different quantities during tumbling to give a two-three tone effect. Finishes, from lustering to coating of iridescence, enhance plain beads and are often added during tumbling.

Color
Color is either part of the bead’s material (natural or artificial) or is added after the bead has been made. Oxides are mixed into glass and into the glazes applied to ceramic beads. Precious stones are dyed or heat treated to enhance the color.

Whatever your taste in beads from glass, crystal, resin, polymer clay, natural gemstone, or wood; they have all been developed by nature with a touch of human hand.

*Experts from various bead books, magazines and web articles.

Black ‘n Gold in Onyx & Pyrite

Our resident family gemologist is starting to cut, shape and polish natural gemstones; this Pyrite pendant is one of his creations. I just love the unique shape and doming affect set against the two tone non-tarnish wire of brass and black; large swirls highlight the bail. It is hung from beautifully faceted flat rondelle Onyx gemstones, mixed in a few gold Swarovski crystals and added a vermeil textured toggle and matching earrings. When I made the bail, I did it a little larger than expected -- so this pendant comes off the necklace -- wear it with or without the pendant -- 2-1 set!

Find this and other wired and natural gemstone beauties for purchase at Timeless Designs.

Traditional Properties
Onyx: Self-control, decision making, intuition, recognition of personal strengths.
Pyrite: Defense, prevention, protection from negativity, physical wholeness, memory.

Tips About Wire

Working with wire is extremely fun, it means having patience (loads of it), a creative and imaginative mind; with a touch of flare or spice. Being able to ‘see’ your piece within the wire are the many talents and gifts of artists around the world.

Wire is one of the essential supplies in my jewelry making business; why? Because it adds that little bit of ‘flare, spice, or spark’ that I’m looking for when working with natural stones, crystals, or any metals. How do you know which is the right size and what material is best? You need to look at durability, malleability, style, color and manufacturer.

Wire is measured in gauges, from 16 all the way to 34; with 16 being the heaviest/thickest and 34 being the smallest/thinnest wires. Typically, the thicker the wire, the sturdier it will become. However, the type of material used for the wire also affects how flexible a particular gauge will be.

Rules of Thumb
*For bracelets, heavy necklace pendants designs or winding wire around very large beads, making charms or creating chain links, a 16 to 18 gauge is suggested.
*Gauges 20 to 24 are considered medium to thin thickness and are good for wire wrapping beads, as well as for constructing findings, headpins, and ear wires. This is typically the gauge used for making earrings and 20 or 22 are the best for ear wires.
*The smallest, skinniest wires are 26 to 34 gauges. They are easily manipulated and flexible, perfectly for use with small beads in embroidery and stitch projects.

You can find wire in brass, copper, pewter, or artistic non-tarnish are inexpensive and typically soft wires to work with; while sterling silver and gold filled are more expensive and typically vary in hardness’s from dead-soft to half-hard.

*Sterling Silver is great looking and made soft or hard. The only thing to remember is that silver will tarnish.
*For wire that will not tarnish and will retain its beauty and luster, try working with non-tarnish wires; it is very inexpensive and usually made from a copper core; covered with a silver, gold, or colored coating that has been treated so that it will not tarnish.
*While the others run the spectrum of price; the most expensive wire to work with is gold or gold-filled, which does not tarnish. Some wire works will substitute gold-plated wire for cost effective designs.

Whatever your choice, you will find that working with wire brings out the artist and craftsman in every design.

To browse and purchase wired natural gemstone jewelry, visit Timeless Designs.

Gemstone of Virtue

Leonardo Da Vinci said, “Amethyst dissipates evil thoughts and quickens the intelligence.” The mystery around Amethyst; it is a variety of vitreous Quartz with purple, violet, or red-purple coloration, Amethyst derives its name from the ancient Greek ‘amethustols’, meaning literally ‘not drunk’. Traditionally associated with purity and piety, amethyst has also always been favored by royalty as purple is considered a regal hue.

Ancient Greeks believed that drinking wine from a cup of Amethyst would make them immune to intoxication. This belief is founded upon the origin of Amethyst as described in Greek mythology. According to ancient myth, amethyst was created by Dionysus, god of fruitfulness and wine. Angered by the purity of a young woman named Amethyst, who preferred to pay homage to the goddess Diana, he ordered two voracious tigers to devour her. Diana came to her rescue, transforming Amethyst into white Quartz. Overcome by remorse, Dionysus shed tears into his goblet of red wine. Some of the wine spilled, running onto the white stone, which absorbed its color, creating the stone Amethyst.

It can be found in most countries where granitic rocks are exposed, amethyst occurs in alluvial deposits and geodes. Its coloration is principally due to traces of iron, and it is sometimes color-zoned due to twinning or preferential absorption on the rhombohedral faces. Major commercial sources of amethyst are Brazil, where it occurs in geodes that are frequently human-sized; but it is also found in Uruguay, Siberia, and North America.

Amethyst traditional properties: Contentment, spirituality, dreams, healing, peace, happiness, love, intuition.

Raw Amethyst cluster is provided by Panther Creek Minerals, San Antonio, Texas. It has been free form wire wrapped in non-tarnish Silver wire.

See more natural gemstone beauties mixed with wire work at Timeless Designs.


*Information re-printed from various rock, mineral and gemstone books.