Handcrafted Lampworked Glass Bead Necklace, 21", Sterling Toggle hotsell Clasp, 12 Sterling Spacers, 13 transparent blue/black/white square beads

hotsell Each glass bead is unique and handcrafted, one by one! I use a propane and oxygen fueled torch to melt rods of clear and colored glass. The most popular glass for lampworking is soda-lime glass called Effetre or Moretti. This glass is manufactured in Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, China and America. I source my glass from glassmaking supply stores in the United States. I introduce a glass rod into the flame until molten, wind it around a specially-coated steel mandrel, forming the base bead. The coating is a bead release that will allow the bead to be easily removed from the mandrel. It can then be embellished or decorated using a variety of techniques and materials. All parts of the work piece must be kept at similar temperatures or they will shatter. Once finished, the piece is annealed in an oven to approximately 950⁰ held at that temperature for a short time, then slowly cooled to avoid thermal shock. At the end of the process, each bead is cleaned with a diamond bead reamer.