Greek Ceramic Fine Metal beads

A clay bead is formed and fired in a kiln. A coating of copper is applied to the clay base, then the bead is fired again. Finally a third layer of metal is applied, such as gold, silver or more copper , and the beads are kiln fired for a final time. This fuses the metal to the bead and makes the coating exceptionally hard-wearing. I am told that the beads are almost impossible to break. Many of the beads that I currently stock in this section have large holes suitable for stringing on cord and leather thong. Naturally if they are placed next to an abrasive bead such as glass, some wearing will occur at the point of contact, but I have never seen the coating wear off next the skin unlike electroplated beads.

George of Designed by George jewellery has even tumbled these with lead shot for 20 minutes and found this caused no noticeable damage except to the flat disc beads which showed some chipping of the plating at the edges.

They will dull a little, over time on exposure to air, so I advise keeping them in sealed bags until needed for use. No abrasive products should be used on them, but a polish with a soft silver cloth helps to restore the shine.

The supplier is based within the EU. Four volunteers who are highly allergic to nickel have worn bracelets made with the silver beads for a week and none of them reported any reaction. An employee at Miraperla.com stated"I do know that I am incredibly sensitive to nickel and have in the 10 years we have had this product never a problem." Anyone who requires more specific information should contact me, before buying any beads.

Karen Hill Tribe (Thai) Silver beads

The supplier is based in Thailand and states: "All of our silver used products are made of "high content" silver which ranges from 95% to 99% in silver purity. The only metal used with our silver is bronze which is mixed with silver as soldering solution."

Bali silver beads

Bali silver beads contain the same equivalent silver content to sterling silver. I will also have a small amount of jewellery findings for sale from time to time. There are cheaper Bali-style beads available now from China and India, but the quality is very low. I will be offering the best quality I can find which comes direct from Bali. Welcome to my world!

The supplier is based in Bali and states:
"Our products is a mixture of 92.5% pure silver (in some products the percentage is even higher than 92.5%) mixed with copper. That makes them 925 sterling silver. For products which design have the soldering part - for soldering we use the mixture for silver, copper plus brass. So those are all materials contain in our products. Our products do not contain nickel.

There is only one goverment agency to check the silver content in Bali and in our understanding only us who do this kind of testing among beads suppliers in Bali. The testing method that is available in Bali is by titrimetric system (melting the whole item and testing them by chemicals) and the result is usually only indicated the silver content of the product. Bali bead products are produced per batch, therefore it is not viable to test every batch that we produce. However silver content are always strickly maintain and we never use nickel."

Lampwork Glass beads

I buy some of the world's finest handmade lampwork glass beads directly from individual bead designers across the world. To me, every one is a work of art and a minor miracle of the artists' skill and patience. The vast majority of lampwork bead makers are women who work from home, and who started making beads as a hobby until it became an obsession. The bead on the right is by UK based Judith Johnston, but I also buy from Canada, USA, Australia, and Germany.

All the lampwork beads I have for sale are "one of a kind", and cannot be repeated. I sell both individual focal beads and also sets of beads. I hope you will become as obsessed with the artistry of these beads as I am!

Polymer clay beads

A true clay has fine particles of silicate suspended in water, whereas polymer clay has fine particles of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) suspended in plasticizer - but it can be used much like clay. The ones on the right are my very first attempt!

Beads made from polymer clay are baked in an oven then polished to a shine. The beads do not have designs painted on them but like millefiori are made up of canes of multiple colours. The skill needed to make these beads is every bit as involved as making lampwork glass beads.