Beads by Mail Austrian Swarovski & Machine Cut Beads & Pendants
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A Word About Measurements
We give bead measurements in mm (millimeters) because that is the jewelry industry standard. One inch = 25mm. Thus a 12mm bead is about a half inch. We try to show beads at their actual size, but your monitor may show them larger or smaller. So please take note of the sizes we indicate as well as all the other details we provide, so you know what you are ordering. Call if you are uncertain about the item.
Swarovski Briolettes at Great Price!!
Delicious, Swarovski faceted briolettes in a great 10x6mm size. Nicely drilled through the top for easy high style designing. These will make your designs sizzle. Choose tanzanite AB, ruby AB, sapphire AB, or emerald AB. Specify color in shopping cart special instructions box. Ruby, tanzanite, sapphire, or emerald ab crystal briolettes 10x6mm, 6 of one color for $4.00. 12 same color for $6.99.
Stunning Easy Lady Bracelet
Now you can also order the kit with all the items you need to complete this stunning bracelet except the Beadalon, which you can order separately. The kit is only $25.00 (I sell the same bracelet off my wrist for $65.00) You will see more lovely, easy kits on our jewelry kits page.
NEW More Decorative Components with Swarovski Crystals!
These designs with their graceful, curving floral motifs make any design rich and expensive looking. The enamel work on the leaves is exquisite. The pair of earring drops is about an inch long. The necklace centerpiece is about 1.5 x 2 inches. The beauty and grace of these pieces makes them very special and your jewelry you create with them will be so special too. Combine them with sapphire, crystal, peridot, emerald, amethyst, almost any floral tint. Earring flower drops, $11.99 for the pair. Necklace centerpiece, $14.99 each.
NEW 4mm Machine Cut Bicones Save!!
Tiny, sparkly bicones in 4mm size add depth and color to your designs. These are not Swarovski but it is impossible to tell the difference, and you save 30% - 45%. Pay 7 cents per bead as compared to 15 cents per bead for Swarovski. Available in jet, olivine, aqua AB, sapphire AB, peridot AB. 4mm machine cut bicone, 16" strand of 100 beads, $6.99.
Decorative Components with Swarovski Crystals!
see above for
ordering the kit to make this lovely bracelet.
These are greatly reduced, to get new slashed prices go to our sale page!
Every one of these high quality, well made components will lift your designs out of the ordinary into the very special. Most are a very delicate size, 25mm high and about 18mm wide. The larger rectangle, "bloom", is 30mm x 24mm. Each one has 2 sets of loops on the back for double stringing. You can also string them with one strand. The loops don't show to the front. The surfaces are nicely textured and the colors are superb, accented by Swarovski crystals to match. Above is an extreme closeup of the purple daisy enlarged many times, so you can see the excellent detail and fine workmanship on these components. I can think of many ways to add them to beads or pendants strands. The colors are pure and true. (The lighter streaks are reflections from the cellophane wrappers.) You can order POSEY in hyacinth, or daffodil. You can order DAISY in amethyst, peridot, or rose. SPRAY is available in gold only. BLOOM is available in rose only. Posey, spray or daisy, 3 (same color) for $8.99, 6 (any 2 colors--specify mix on shopping cart) for $16.99. Bloom, rose color only, $7.99 each, 3 for $18.99 save 20%.
Swarovski Colors
4mm topaz round. 4mm round, 20 for $3.50.
topaz 4mmNEW Swarovski Squaredells (square rondells) Must Have
These sparkling beads in a square shape with crystal AB trimmed in silver or jet will give the most elegant finishing touch to your jewelry. Size is 6mm, and the holes are a bit larger than normal. Each square has 8 sparkling crystals for maximum bling. Crystal ab with silver or with jet, 10 pieces same color for $6.99.
Swarovski Briolettes at Great Price!!
Delicious, Swarovski faceted briolettes in a great 10x6mm size. Nicely drilled through the top for easy high style designing. These will make your designs sizzle. Choose tanzanite AB, ruby AB, sapphire AB, or emerald AB. Specify color in shopping cart special instructions box. Ruby, tanzanite, sapphire, or emerald ab crystal briolettes 10x6mm, 6 of one color for $4.00. 12 same color for $6.99.
Ideas With Sterling Bead Hoops & Millefiore
The hoop
is 2mm sterling round wire. The wonderful colorful "fiesta" style uses Venetian
millefiore with Austrian crystals in aqua and topaz. Takes about 1 hr. to make a pair. And they
are the most comfortable style of earrings to wear! This set for sale at
Designer Contemporary Jewelry .
"Pearl" Lasso Necklace
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Click the image to see a larger photo then click your browser "BACK" button to return here. |
| Above, the designer for St. John (those expensive knits) was photographed in Vogue Magazine wearing a lasso like this, only this one is prettier than hers! I would estimate the retail price of her necklace to be at least $220.00. Our costume pearls in cream are 8mm and we added tassels of crystal AB drops and an onyx bead that is inlaid with Swarovski crystals. This style is very easy to make and even easier to wear because it is completely adjustable to your preferred length. To make one like this check out our instructions--they are on the Projects page. "Pearl" lasso necklace kit with everything you need except tigertail, $54.99 (if you purchase everything separately the makings are about $63.00). |
Jet Faceted Machine Cut Basic Bead
| This is a basic beautiful Czech machine cut bead in inky jet that you use as an accent. I have seen necklaces of a single 16" strand of these jet beads selling for big money. You cannot tell that these are not Swarovski. 8mm. Jet machine cuts, 12 for $5.99, 72 for $31.00 (this is 15% less than the dozen price). |
Three Lovely Designs with Crystals
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| Left, Sapphire Czech flowers, Swarovski sapphire AB tapered beads, with Swarovski black diamond AB machine cuts in 8mm. The beautiful clasp (see below) is pure deco in the characteristic rectangle shape with 15 tiny brilliants set into a chased silver frame. Very elegant. One of a kind Blue Deco bracelet and earrings $45.00; kit with everything you need $28.00. |
| Right, This fan shaped beaded "fringe" is a very hot look this Spring. You can make it easily and add the fan to any choker. The foundation beads are 6mm antique copper fire polish, and the fringe segments have our new faceted copper-decorated Czech bead in aquamarine, with Swarovski chrysolite AB diamonds. It's a lush, very rich look. One of a kind aquamarine and antique copper fan choker, about 15"-16", $85.00; kit with everything you need $40.00. |
| Right, this bracelet and earring set shows the impact you get with a beautiful silver cloisonne bead such as the tapered bead with blue and maroon enamel in this design. Combined with 3 aqua big brother 5-sided beads and 10 amethyst AB fire polish 6mm beads the bracelet is delicate but has great impact in the cool color scheme. Earrings too, note how the cloisonne bead is reversed. Aqua 4mm Swarovski for the sparkle. One of a kind blue/maroon cloisonne bracelet and earrings $55.00; kit with everything you need $22.00. |
More Information About Crystal
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Swarovski and other (Czech) machine-cut crystal beads and pendants as well as home decor accessories use the technology developed by Daniel Swarovski in the late 1800s at his workshop in Wattens, Austria. The facet-edges are microscopically identical and fine which contributes to the extra scintillation and sparkle of a machine cut bead. Many of the glass colors are not found in other beads. Swarovski particularly has been successful in duplicating actual gemstone colors such as tanzanite, emerald, ruby, blue topaz, among others. You can usually tell if a faceted crystal bead has been machine cut--they simply effervesce. In addition, Swarovski developed a method to calibrate every stone so that jewelers could use standard settings. Scroll to the end of this page for more information on this fascinating topic. The term "crystal" when used to refer to beads has dual meanings. It means machine cut facets; it can also mean any faceted bead. Crystal also refers to the semiprecious gemstone otherwise known as colorless quartz, also called rock crystal. Bead experts differentiate between machine-cut or fire-polish beads, as explained below. All faceted glass beads on our Web site are mass-produced. The leading producers are in the Czech Republic and Austria. In Austria in the tiny town of Wattens is the Swarovski factory (imagine, I was in Austria and didn't visit). Swarovski was the first to perfect the production of machine-cut faceted beads and stones. Each bead is cut and faceted, much like a precious stone, by a special mechanical process perfected by Swarovski. This results in extremely "sharp" edges on each facet, and exact calibration of measurements so the facets produce the maximum sparkle and liveliness (refractance). RefractanceThe greater the refractance, the more a glass item sparkles and shines. Achieving maximum refractance in glass cutting is the goal, and depends on exactly quantifiable formulae. As a result, all beads and stones in each color/size category are exactly the same size and color. This is important, especially for jewelers who do inlay and settings.Fire PolishFire polishing is a less costly way to finish the beads using heat, not individual machine cuts. The beads are pressed and then tumbled in a heated container to polish the facets. This process results in a perfectly beautiful bead, but the edges aren't as "sharp" nor are the facets as exactly sized. If you look very closely you can tell the difference between a machine-cut and a fire-polish bead, although from a distance it is nearly impossible. Czech Machine CutsIn recent years, Czech factories have also produced machine-cut faceted beads which sell for less than the premium Swarovski. The Czech machine-cuts are identical. It is truly impossible to see any difference. Production is a matter of getting the math right, and once this happens, the output is going to be identical no matter who makes it. Individual Czech bead producers didn't develop the brand recognition as did Swarovski, although in the jewelry world the phrase "Czech bead" is synonymous with very high quality as well as originality, creativity, and tremendous variety of styles. Czech glass beads have been around much longer than 100 years, as evidenced by trade beads produced in Czechoslovakia/Bohemia that are more than 300 years old. Crystal is a very high quality glass that can be colored, cut and faceted, and responds with sparkle and vivacity. The term "crystal" also refers to the clear colorless bead or stone, as well as a semiprecious quartz stone that is colorless. There's nothing prettier than a holiday table set with good crystal wine and water goblets, reflecting every glimmer of the candlelight. In such a setting, you can show off your crystal earrings, necklace, and bracelet proudly. Collecting Crystal JewelryIn the Victorian era and up until the 1930s, jewelers strung crystal beads on fine silver or gold chain to ensure that the necklace and bracelet would never break. If you find a chain-strung strand at a flea market or estate sale, the necklace is probably very old. Ladies collected good crystal jewelry; many fine pieces were of karat gold set with carefully chosen faceted crystal shaped pieces. These pins and other items were the design precursors of the fabulous rhinestone (another word for faceted crystal) pins and earrings of the 1940s, 50s and 60s. Some designers inlaid colored crystals into various hues of bakelite. These pieces are rare and very desirable. |
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