Any material that has a hole through which stringing material can be threaded is technically a bead. Beading is the easiest type of jewelry-making. It's also quick and fun! The tools needed are minimal and beading supplies are easily found both online and in craft stores.
This article focuses on gemstones beads: what to look for when buying bead strands and a guide to the basic shapes. Here are some bead buying basics:
Bead Measurements
Beads come temporarily strung usually in 15 or 16-inch lengths. The unit of measurement for bead size is always millimeter (mm) rather than the USA measurement of inches. There are roughly 25 mm per inch so beads in mm always seem larger when described than they are to bead buyers used to using the USA system of measurement. A good rough estimate for those that do not have an inch/millimeter ruler is to figure 12 mm per each ½ inch.
Bead Finishing
Beads are the lesser quality by-product of the lapidary art of gem cutting. As such, the materials used to make beads are inferior to jewelry quality gemstones. Does that mean that beads can’t look fabulous? Absolutely not!
If the bead buyer is looking for sparkle and flash make sure the beads are faceted. Unless there is a gemstone or lapidary show open to the public, the most common place to purchase beads strands is online. It’s really difficult to judge the brilliance of the bead when it’s not viewed in person but if the description of the bead doesn’t include the term ‘faceted’ the bead will be dull in appearance.
Faceted means the surface of the bead is cut into many different sides or ‘faces’. This assures that light will travel through and bounce off the bead creating its brilliance and flair. Please note that some gemstones, such as turquoise, are incapable of having flash and sparkle.
Bead Size and Stringing
A good rule of thumb is that the smaller the bead in mm the smaller the hole running through the bead. Stringing small beads can be maddening as they are hard to pick up and difficult to thread. Bead reamers, both manual and automatic, can be used to enlarge the hole but this can be time-consuming.
Luckily beading wire comes in many different diameters. The best diameter to use is one that fits through each bead with little wiggle room. This keeps the beads laying flat with no gaps between the beads. The best advice is to purchase the bead strand, measure the diameter of the drilled hole (converting to metrics) and then purchase a reel of beading wire. Just about all craft stores sell beading wire and it’s pretty inexpensive.
Common Bead Shapes
- Briolettes – tear-drop shapes beads that are drilled at the top, narrow portion of the bead. Briolettes make wonderful drop earrings or pendants.
- Rounds – even and circular. Round beads when strung can look a little boring unless they are interspaces with beads of other shapes and sizes or are strung in a graduated fashion. Graduated means going from largest to smallest.
- Cubes – square shaped beads.
- Roundels – oval in shape. Roundels can be flat or puffed in diameter.
- Chips – fractured bits and pieces of gemstones that are the by-product of all other gemstone cutting and shaping processes. As these are usually of poor quality, chip strands are very cheap.
- Melons – long tubular in shape with tapering rounded edges
- Chunks – large chips. Very large chunks are usually used to make bohemian or ethnic styles of jewelry.
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