Beads have been around for a LONG time. They have been made from many different substances including clay, paper, metals, bone, shells, porcelain, wood, ivory, gemstones and glass.

The history of beads is a long one that spans the entire world. They have been used as a form of trade, and of beauty and adornment, talismans, and a show of wealth and power.

Bead making is a highly valued art/skill throughout the entire world from very early times onward. Many of the skills and technics used have been hidden for centuries and if the method was revealed, the craftsman possibly risked death. Even today, some secrets are still highly valued in some countries. Some countries rationed the export of beads because there were only a few skilled workers. This of course, raised the value of the beads immensely.

HANDMADE LAMPWORK glass beads are made on a metal rod or copper wire. Molten glass is wound on the rod and then designs are added to enhance the bead. Millefiori (million flowers) is used to decorate many beads. It is a type of mosaic work involving many layers of glass to create a pattern (similar to clay millifiori) and then the large design of glass is pulled out into a long thin rod and then cut to reveal the beautiful designs within. These designs are then placed onto a bead or other glass work and melted into it to create multiple complex designs in a very small space.

**(Loren Stump, an American bead artist is extremely adept at creating wonderful miniature scenes in his work. Some of the pieces such as his signature cane are no larger than 1/16inch in diameter and include not only his name, but the year. Truly amazing !! If you ever get a chance to view his work, I would highly recommend it. )

After the handmade Lampwork Glass beads are made, they are then put into an oven to heat all parts evenly and then allowed to cool slowly to reduce the stress in the bead. This is called annealing and it is a necessary part of beadmaking.

After the bead is cooled, if a copper wire was used, the bead is immersed in an acid bath to free the wire , but in our American made beads we generally use a steel rod called a Mandrel which is coated with bead release (a type of kiln wash specially made for beadmakers) which allows the bead to come off the rod when immersed in water.

MASS PRODUCTION of beads came about when cheaper materials such as glass allowed everyone to wear beads. As far as glass is concerned, the invention of a molding process produced a perfectly round identical bead. In the late 1800′s Swarovski invented an automatic process for cutting quantities of quality glass beads. Even today, workers are not able to access all parts of the factory so as to guard the secret.

Once a bead is shaped, most are tumbled in a large drum to remove the molded seam, or to add different effects depending on the medium added to the beads.

Some beads are coated with different finishes, depending on the type of material used for the bead.  Color is either a part of the beads natural or synthetic material. Oxides are mixed into glass to give different colors or enamels are used to enhance the colors. Precious metals are also used sometimes, especially on handmade lampwork beads to give them a different effect.

Some Precious stones are also dyed or heat treated to enhance their colors.

ORIGINS OF BEADS

Since beads first appeared over 40,000 yrs ago, they have been made on every continent from local materials. Many regions developed their own designs and technics.  As under the Roman rule, the beads and technics spread through trading especially from the 15th century onwards when the world was flooded with European beads.

SOUTH and CENTRAL AMERICA have a long history of bead making traditions and technics from their natural materials such as quill and wampum.  These beads were sometimes replaced by imported beads when the continent was colonized but many of the traditions have survived the ages.

NORTH AMERICAN beads were introduced to the natives by traders and explorers such as Columbus. His first act upon landing in 1492 was to offer beads to the native indians.

NATIVE AMERICAN beadwork features rocailles and bugle beads. Turquoise, coral and silver are also a large part of Native American indian beadwork—truly some of the finest and most intricate work around.

In EUROPE, beadmaking was present in France since 38,000 BC. It flourished with the Romans, Byzantines and Vikings.

In FRANCE (Oyonnax-southern France) the plastic bead trade replaced the 19th century horn industry.

GREECE produces silver Filigree, worry beads and many types of ceramic beads highly decorated.

ITALY evolved into a glass bead center on the Venetian island Murano and dominated the world bead trade from the Renaissance. Millefiori, chevron, seed beads and decorated lampwork glass beads are a large part of the tradition. Artists would face a death penalty if they talked of the trade. The island was isolated for just that reason. Even today, some secrets are still guarded.  Most of the beads made by American Art glass artists  (myself included) use the very same Moretti that has been used for centuries. This glass is imported and is of high quality.

INDIA imported European beads in earlier centuries, but now produces large amounts of well done beads in metal, lampwork and wound glass and wood for a fraction of the cost of Venetian and Czech beads.

India has a natural supply of semiprecious stones such as quartz have been traded for centuries and is highly valued. Beaded jewelry plays a large part in Indian life, either worn in precious materials or imitations.

JAPAN is the center of the pearl industry.

It invented the commercial cultured pearl in the early 20th century and produces a large portion of the worlds supply. Japans mass produced beads include plastic beads in many colors and finishes. They also export top quality porcelain, rocailles and seed beads.

CHINA’S beads and materials include jade and coral as well as cloisonne beads. Also, many freshwater pearls are Chinese.

THE FAR EAST

Mass produced beads in factories and can cheaply imitate those from India and Europe. In Korea, factories stamp many beads from sheet metal.

The PHILIPPINES produce beads from shell, horn and bone. The bead maker, working from home and paid very little has an intermediary deliver the raw materials and collect the beads weekly. Various types of coral are fished off the coast and mother-of-pearl is carved or cut and inlaid as a decoration on beads.

The USES of Beads

Beads are used the world over for many different things. The word “bead” comes from the Anglo-Saxon “biddin” meaning “to pray” and “bede” meaning prayer.  Rosaries, a set number of beads for counting prayers are used by over half the worlds religions.

Beads are worn as a show of wealth and a form of currency. Many of the worlds leaders had jewelry made from precious metals or stones and they could sell it in times of need.

A cowrie shell belt on some Pacific islands is actually a currency and increases in value as it changes hands.

Beads are also used as STATUS symbols. This can indicate rank, age, marital status and place in society. In Africa, a Zulu girls love letter to her love is a complicated mix of colored beads. There are 40 words for different types of Maasai beadwork.

Amulets such as eye beads are worn to deflect the evil eye.  Worn as a source of luck and protection and to appease spirits. Beads were scattered on the crops in Asia to bring a good harvest.

MODERN trends

In the 19th century, a middle class market for beads developed and there came new materials and techniques such as steel, cast iron, plastics and more. This enabled more people to wear jewelry. At the end of the 19th Century, art nouveau introduced a new breed of beadmakers. Tiffany invented luminous style fumed glass.

As people demand more and more diversification in their jewelry and as demand for the “one of a kind” art beads increases more and more artists are producing the handmade American “Art Beads” such as you have seen here. Since each bead is an individual creation and some artists skills are beginning to approach and even in some cases overshadow the skills of the Venetian artists due to technology and the willingness of artists to share their knowledge, the American Art bead reflects an investment in truly wearable “One of a kind” art.

I truly hope you have enjoyed this little bit of history and information on Beads.

If you would like to learn more, there is a great book on this subject from Amazon.com. Please click this link to go to a site listing what this book is about.  From there you can go to Amazon and purchase it.

Glass, plastic, and stone are probably the most common materials, but beads are also made from bone, horn, ivory, metal, shell, pearl, coral, gemstones, polymer clay, metal clay, resin, synthetic minerals, wood, ceramic, fiber, paper, and seeds.

A pair of beads made from Nassarius sea snail shells, approximately 100,000 years old, are thought to be the earliest known examples of jewellery. [1][2]

Beadwork is the craft of making things with beads. Beads can be woven together with specialized thread, strung onto thread or wire, or adhered to a surface (e.g. fabric, clay).

Modern beadwork is often used as a creative hobby to create jewelry, purses, coasters, and dozens of other crafts.

Beads are available in many different designs, sizes, colors, and materials, allowing much variation among bead artisans and projects. Simple projects can be created in less than an hour by novice beaders, while complex beadwork may take weeks of meticulous work with specialized tools and equipment.

Several layers of glass can be applied (typically four to seven layers), either star-shaped or smooth. After all layers have been applied, the glass is drawn out to the desired thickness and when cooled, cut into short segments showing the resulting star pattern at their ends. The ends can be ground to display the chevron pattern. Chevron beads are traditionally composed of red, blue, and white layers, but modern chevrons can be found in any color combination. Original beads made for trade to the New World and Africa were typically composed of green, white, blue and red layers.

Beads can be pressed, or made with traditional lampworking techniques. The metal coating used was originally developed by NASA for the space program.

crystal beads (also known as machine cut crystal) are cut crystal beads made with hi-tech precise machinery. Thanks to this state of the art machine cut processing the crystal items achieve outstanding geometry and excellent optical parameters. Many lead crystal beads are enhanced with surface coatings. Aurora Borealis, or AB, is a very common surface coating that diffuses light into a rainbow. Other common surface coatings are vitrail, moonlight, dorado, satin, star shine, heliotrope.
Swarovski along with Preciosa branded crystal beads are prized by jewelers and hobbyists. They are a high-lead content crystal although today production of lead-free crystal is common. Lead crystals have an incredible sparkle and clarity, and are often multi-faceted to resemble gemstones. Styles and colors go in and out of production, so vintage cuts and colors are often prized with a similarly associated price tag. Swarovski along with Preciosa bicones are the most popular crystal beads in sizes 4 mm and 6 mm. Other Czech companies such as PAS Jablonec make similar styles of crystal beads.

“Fire-polished” beads are faceted glass beads made in the Czech Republic. They are faceted by machine and then drawn through ovens to make the surfaces molten, and thus shiny when the beads cool.

This method of “polishing” is faster and cheaper than buffing and results in a reasonably attractive bead, though generally less perfect than buffed beads. Czech fire-polish beads are made in 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. They commonly come in sizes from 3 millimetres (0.12 in) to 22 millimetres (0.87 in).

Pressed glass beads are formed by pressing the hot glass into mold to give the bead its shape. Often pressed beads are made using machines that stamp the shape from the molten glass.

The shapes can have holes punched in virtually any direction. The Czech Republic is the primary producer of pressed beads, although India and China also produce significant amounts

Furnace glass beads, also called cane glass beads, are sliced from long glass rods, often decorated with stripes and other color, also known as canes.

Fusible beads come in many different opaque colors, transparent colors and with sparkles (flakes inside the plastic) and peg boards come in various shapes (e.g. figures) and squares and rectangles. They also can be strung into necklaces or bracelets, or even woven into keychains.