BEAD FAQ’S
What’s a vintage bead?
A vintage bead is a bead forty years old or greater.
What is a Cane Glass or Furnace Glass Bead?
Cane or furnace glass are blown glass with colors applied. These are heated and twisted into long canes; the canes are then hand cut.
What is a lampwork bead?
Lampwork beads are hand made using a variety of different types of glass. A “blob” of glass is melted over a gas torch to individually form each bead and pattern. No two beads are ever exactly alike.
What is Dichroic Glass?
It must be manufactured in a vacuum chamber where an electron beam deposits many microscopic layers of metallic oxides, such as magnesium and titanium, on glass. This metallic coating absorbs and reflects different colors of light at different angles, making the glass multi-hued. It costs $100-$200 per foot of glass. It can be fused together in many layers and then clear coated or left without a clear coating.
What is the difference between gold plated and gold filled?
There is a difference between gold-plate and gold-filled. Gold-fill is 50 to 100 times thicker than regular gold-plating, and about 17 to 25 times thicker than heavy gold electroplate. The base metal used is usually brass, copper, or steel. Gold-filled items are made by combining a layer or layers of gold alloy to a base metal (usually brass) then rolling or drawing the metal to the desired thickness and shape. Gold-plate is a very thin deposit of gold, electroplated or electrochemically applied to the piece. (The industry standard is .15 to .25 mils thickness of gold-plated to the surface of the base metal.) It is a very small fraction of an inch thick (1/1000 inch to 1/1,000,000 or so of an inch thick). Heavy gold electroplate might be .002 or .003 in thick. Gilt is another term used, which means there is a very thin finish of gold color over the base metal (may or may not actually be gold).
What is Vermeil?
Vermeil is sterling silver, heavily electroplated with yellow gold.