Seed bead
The extremely small class of seed beads smaller than 15/0 have not been in production since the 1890s and any in existence are usually considered antiques.
Next, one of these is re-heated and wound around a hot metal wire creating a ring of glass which is then worked and shaped until smooth and round.
[5] Before World War II, there was a thriving bead industry centered in eastern Europe, especially in Bohemia, before 1918 a part of the Austro-Hungarian empire and a part of the Republic of Czechoslovakia after, although Germany, Italy and France were also noted producers of glass beads.
After the fall of the Iron Curtain, treasure troves of old beads made their way to Western markets.
Most contemporary high-quality seed beads are made in Japan, India, or the Czech Republic.
Some seed beads produced in France are available in historic "old-time" colors and are popular for use in repairing or replicating antiquities.
Lesser quality seed beads are produced in India, in People's Republic of China (PRC) and in Taiwan.
Other seed beads have an external coating that will rub away to reveal a completely different color underneath.
Generally, less expensive beads are more susceptible to the ravages of time no matter their country of origin.
Examples of true black glass are circulating in jewelry pieces made to commemorate the funeral of Queen Victoria.
Rows and columns in weaving line up more uniformly, so detailed pattern work comes out more accurate and even.
[13][14][15][16] The aught system of classifying seed beads is widely used but is imprecise and variable between manufacturers.
Style of glass (opaque, transparent, matte) and finish, color, and name may (or may not) be listed along with the companies product number.
For example, Charlotte size 13/0 cut beads are generally on short hanks, containing 12 twelve-inch strands.
The beads are produced in the Czech Republic using a ten kilogram rod of color glass.
The color glass rods are produced from a larger mass melt of some ten metric tons.
Buying Japanese beads by the hank usually costs about twice as much, therefore, they are not usually sold or purchased from Japan in this manner.
Most Japanese seed beads are repackaged for retail sale in manageable quantities based on price codes.
Many of the tubed seed beads that can be found in craft stores are stamped with their name on the bottoms, indicating both a wholesale and retail packaging setup.
