Material Info Guide of Beaded Jewels

The Original Austrian Swarovski Crystal is made since 1892 by the Austrian family company based in Wattens, Tyrol, has been the world's leading manufacturer of cut crystal for over a hundred years. Each bead is machine-faceted, optically pure, 32% lead crystal with facets that have a brilliance and sparkle unmatched by other crystal beads. (Lead crystal by definition must contain at least 24% lead.) The rumor is that Swarovski adds silver to the crystal-but whatever they add, it certainly makes these beads more brilliant than any other crystal beads.

Swarovski crystals, like most other crystals, contain lead oxide. Lead creates the refraction of the crystal with the maximum refraction at 30-32% lead content. Lead also adds to the weight of the crystal giving it a more substantial feel. Austrian Swarovski crystal contains approximately 32% lead. Full lead crystal must contain above 30% lead oxide content in order to be consider full lead crystal.
Swarovski Crystal AB and AB2X colors that normally more expansive than normal colors. AB ( Aurora Borealis) means more color effects and AB2X means more double color effects on Swarovski Beads.
Please note, Lead levels in Beaded Jewels products comply with FDA
standards.

BEADED JEWELS

Freshwater Pearls are characterized by their translucence and luster . All pearls that I choose to work with are genuine freshwater pearls. Freshwater pearls are cultivated (cultured) in mussels and oysters that live in freshwater pearl farms in Asia. The disired unique look is accomplished through using all colour shades and sizes with each other. All pearls exept for the natural pearl-white ones are dyed in fashion colours. BEADED JEWELS

Mother of Pearl is the name given to the iridescent coating on the inside of mollusk shells. When an object gets inside the shell of a mollusk, it will protect itself by coating the invading object with the same material it uses to coat pearls. This is where the name creator (mother) of pearls comes from. Nacre is found in pearl oysters, freshwater mussels and abalone. Some of the m.o.p in my work is dyed in fashion colours. BEADED JEWELS

Shell Beads like the Paua are laminated for extreme beauty and stability. Two-sided beads are drilled top to bottom for optimum presentation effects.

Fossil Beads are formed by the skeletons of countless tiny sea creatures, have been specially cut to reveal unusual and interesting surface features. The fossil beads that are used in my work are dyed in fashion colours. BEADED JEWELS

Kiwi Quartz
Aka Kiwi Stone
This quartz is mottled with green, black and white; while translucent, kiwi quartz is more opaque than most quartzes. It has specks of black and white similar to a kiwi fruit. The unique marbled pattern of kiwi stone has made it one of the most popular gemstones being used today. The kiwi stone that I used in my work are dyed red, turquoise-green, purple. BEADED JEWELS

Jasper comes from the Greek and means "spotted stone. Jasper comes in so many unique forms , Jasper is a rock composed of chalcedony, dense microcrystalline quartz and other minerals which make up the colorful bands or patterns throughout. It is found in Germany, India, France, Russia and the U.S. It is rare to find Jasper that is uniformly colored. I have used in my work moss jasper. It gets its name from the word 'moss' because it does resembles moss.
I also use ocean jasper which gets its name from resembeling the bottom of the ocean.
BEADED JEWELS

Snowflake Obsidian resembles flakes of snow floating against a deep black sky. The snowflake appearance in this volcanic glass is produced by internal crystallites formed as lava quickly cooled.
BEADED JEWELS

Amethyst is known as the " Purple Gem" and has a well established history in the gemstone world. Amethyst is a form of quartz which is light lavender to deep purple in colour. BEADED JEWELS

Hematite is a silvery, shiny opaque stone that almost looks like metal. Hematite is heavy and relatively hard oxide mineral, that constitutes the most important iron ore because of its high iron content (70 percent) and its abundance.

Hemalyke is a synthetic hematite that is made by grinding up hematite, ... Hemalyke looks very much like natural hematite - it is hard to tell them apart. The designer from BEADED JEWELS only uses hematite in her unique work.

Turquoise come in a range of colours from sky blue through various shades of green to greenish and yellowish gray. Turquoise is opaque except in the thinnest splinters, and has a feeble, faintly waxy lustre. The name turquoise undoubtedly comes from turc (Turkish in French) as it was transported to Europe through Turkey. BEADED JEWELS

Lapis Lazuli occurs in various shades of blue with some qualities being speckled with white calcite and some with yellow . The finest Lapis Lazuli is even blue color with little or no veining from other elements.Lapis lazuli is a semiprecious stone valued for its deep blue color. The source of the pigment ultramarine, Lapis lazuli is not a mineral but a rock colored by lazurite.The name lapis comes from word pencil in Spanish

Glass Beads - An Array of color awaits you in a myriad of shapes, finishes and styles including Czech glass beads, handmade glass beads, Millefiori glass beads, lampworked glass beads, bumpy glass beads, silver-lined tube beads, african hand-painted ceramic beads. Covering an artistic spectrum from elegant to playful in an unbeatable combination of beauty and value.

Millefiori Glass Beads - The millefiori technique involves the production of canes or rods, known as Murrine with multicolored patterns which are viewable only from the cut ends of the cane. A murrine rod is heated in a furnace, pulled until thin while still maintaining the cross section's design, and then cut into beads or discs when cooled
BEADED JEWELS

Lampwork Beads - Lampworking is a type of glasswork that uses a gas fueled torch to melt rods and tubes of clear and colored glass. Once in a molten state, the glass is formed by blowing and shaping with tools and hand movements. It is also known as flameworking or torchworking, as the modern practice no longer uses oil-fueled lamps.
BEADED JEWELS

Pressed Czech Glass Beads -

Pressed glass is a form of glass made using a plunger to press molten glass into mold It was first patented by American inventor John P. Bakewell _ in 1825 to make knobs for furniture.

Czech glass beads are made in the Czech Republic centralized around an area called Jablonec nad Nisou . Production of glass beads in the area dates back to the 14th century, though production was depressed under communist rule. Because of this long tradition, their workmanship and quality has an excellent reputation. BEADED JEWELS

Sterling Silver tarnishes naturally. To help prevent tarnishing store your beaded sterling silver jewelry in a cool, dry place or inside an air-tight plastic bag. Some jewelry boxes are lined with anti-tarnish fabric. If a jewelry piece should tarnish, you can clean off the tarnish using a regular cloth or special anti-tarnish cloth. Clean the silver carefully avoiding polishing any other beads. Using a cloth should not damage the dark oxidation in the recesses of the silver. Do not use jewelry cleaner on any beaded or sterling silver jewelry.

Wire & Chains I choose to work with nylon coded steel wire 7 & 19 Strands, because of the high pull capacity of 12-20lb and also high flexibility.I use sterling silver chain ,sterling silver bead components, sterling silver plated chain, braided cord, leather cord, memory steel wire, silk.
All earring hooks are sterling silver , also all lockets exept when noted otherwise.

Jewelry Care

To remove tarnishing from silver jewelry, you can wipe with a 100 percent cotton cloth and/or clean with a nonabrasive silver polish, depending on how aggressive the tarnish is. Do not clean sterling silver or gold jewelry with toothpaste and a toothbrush. These are soft metals that easily scratch.
A mild soap and water solution used with a soft brush is effective for most home jewelry care. Although soap and water is the best choice for most gems and jewelry, do not use soap and water with amber, coral, emerald, jade, kunzite, lapis lazuli, opal or turquoise.

Everyday Wear

Apply any cosmetics and perfume and let dry before you put on your fine jewelry. Some cosmetic chemicals can damage your gemstone, pearl or gold jewelry. Be especially careful to remove rings and bracelets before working with any products that contain bleach, alcohol, turpentine, acetone or ammonia.