Venetian Glass Beads - Venetian Bead Shop Blog

Calcedonia Glass – Technique from the 15th Century, Lost and ReFound!

Calcedonia Glass Sculptures – San Marco Square Glass Shop

Calcedonia (Chalcedony) is a glass made with silver and other elements (glass is above all a chemical reaction which takes place in heat), developed in Murano during the mid fifteenth century. Angelo Barovier is attributed with developing this polychrome glass around 1460 (the 15th Century).The Barovier name has been synonymous with Murano Glass since the furnaces were moved to Murano from Venice. This famous family was granted the exclusive rights to the production of clear glass by the Venetian Repubic about 1455. The technique of this clear glass became known as crystal glass or Venetian crystal, which was a significant development in the story of glass and of the island of Murano..

The secret of the Calcedonia glass was closely guarded and entirely lost when the Venetian Republic fell. It varies widely in the colors which come out of the furnace, subject to the heat of the silver, humidity and the humor of the glass maker!

It was once again rediscovered by Lorenza Radi in 1856 but again by the 20th Century none was in production. Today we thank Loredano Rosin for bringing back this technique in the 1970s. His pieces are still on exhibit around the world and in private collections. His untimely death from a boating accident was a blow to the artistic Murano Glass community.

Fortunately, his brother Dino Rosin, carries on the family tradition and has continued to perfect this glass in large and beautiful glass sculptures. You can still find Dino Rosin sculptures available at very hefty sums on eBay and in fine galleries around the world, just search for his name. Today, there are several other well known masters who create sculptures in this unpredictable glass, including Tagliapietra.

For all of us in the Venetian Bead world, we are fortunate that there is another furnace who produces (with proper begging) canes of this unpredictable glass which we can chop and use in beads. However, this is a difficult production and we can only get small quantities made – never knowing what color will arrive.

We all dream of the blues and aquas…and sometimes we get it. The amazing, never the same, colors are produced by adding silver nitrate to the glass and the colors are affected by the humidity, the heat, and factors we don’t understand. The glass begins as salt, soda, sand and minerals days before the glass master is ready to work. The recipes for glass depend on very accurate measuring and minerals of the highest quality. Any small difference will result in color changes or in glass which does not react well in the flames when the beads are being made. It pops and cracks. The Calcedonia has a mind and life of its own, the colors can not be reproduced with any certainty. They continue to turn colors in the flames as the beads are made and even after the beads are in the annealing oven.

Making a Calcedonia Sculpture Murano Italy

Here are the colors of our latest batch, with added sparkle from Aventurina.

We must enjoy each batch of beads for what they are: unique little jewels!

From Canes to Murano Glass Beads for Jewelry

Our beads all take a similar path arriving here to have photography made, get names, assign Product Codes and finally to you.

We begin with the famous Effetre glass canes which are produced on the island of Murano in much the same fashion as hundreds of years ago. The Effetre factory is a secretive place and only a couple of times have I been allowed to have a camera inside. Few people are allowed inside, and I am always with a bead maker when we are selecting canes. Canes are sold in 10 kilo bundles, so locals expect to make a lot of beads! (There are a couple of “retailers” on the island who sell to some of the smaller artisans, at a higher price of course.)

The making of the canes is difficut task, but the real super stars of our beads are our dedicated bead makers who work in constantly staring into the flame, knowing exactly the right moment to wrap the molten glass around the mandrel. It takes a certain feel of the glass, knowing how the glass looks – when it is all glowing red. And did I say, you need to be able to turn the mandrel with one hand in one direction while controlling the flow of the molten glass with the other hand, a little like patting your head and rubbing your tummy at the same time.

They work with few tools, certainly not delicate tools, the most important one is simply gravity. The few tools help with the shaping.

When making rounds, you need only gravity and these little forms which they use to center the roundness of the mass of molten glass around the copper mandrel. Easier said than done. Work too long and the glass becomes to hard to move.

The side view of the classic Murano/Venetian glass torch, known as a canello. The small tray to the side of the torch holds fritte, small polverized glass, which will be used to decorate the bead.

When the day is done, and the beads have cooled for several hours, a helper cuts the excess of the soft copper mandrel off and they go into these sieve baskets and are put in the acid machine where the acid eats the copper mandrel from the bead, leaving the holes.

The beads are dried (or not) sometimes our bead makers are rushing and the beads arrive to us still slightly damp.

The last step is equally important, the boat that goes around the island picking up shipments. We need a strong partner who can get the shipments from the islands to the airport in Venice. From there they take varied routes to the US, where we start our part of this journey, making photos, assigning numbers, and finally when you choose them another trip through one of our shipping partners.

Whew, I am a little exhausted just thinking how difficult it is to get a 8mm Gold Foil bead to you!

What Sizes are the Holes in Murano Glass Beads?

This is a question every new beader asks when they first encounter Venetian Beads. And then they ask, “What size wire should I use?”

Venetian Beads, Murano Beads

The most common size of holes of Murano Glass Beads is approximately 1mm. Approximate because they are most often made on 1mm diameter copper rods, which heats up and naturally expands. The glass wrapped around it expands as well, but when the glass and the copper cool, they both shrink. So we generally have a ~1mm hole and for larger beads, the mandrel will be larger as the mandrel must support the bead in the fire.

Copper Mandrels on our Venetian Dichroic Beads

We also make beads like our PerlaVita, European Large Hole Beads, Bimbi, our smaller European Large Hole Beads for Children, Duo and 2mm Rondelles which we developed for Leather and they each have different sizing. We make these on stainless steel rods using a bead release to keep the glass from sticking to the rods. Bead Release was used in Venice prior to the 1920s and was called “fango” meaning mud because it came from the lagoon. Bead Release is similar to kiln wash and contrary to popular believe it was not invented by Americans, but they did add graphite to it.

Stainless Steel Mandrels Ready for making PerlaVita Beads

So the short answer is that any wire which is less than 1mm can be used for Venetian Beads. The important issue is the weight of a bead. So larger beads from 16mm up through our 30 and 40mm beads will need a larger gauge wire. Venetian/Murano Beads will always be slightly abrasive around the edges. This is not a defect, simply how the beads are made.

Bracelets or Necklaces?

Bracelets will require a heavier gauge because bracelets are much more active and get more abuse than a necklace. Necklaces, especially those with Swarovski or small beads can be strung on a smaller gauge because they will not be subjected to as much stress.

Beadalon and SoftFlex

We carry wire from both Beadalon and SoftFlex, which are the standard setters in the beading industry. SoftFlex is produced in the US and much of Beadalon is also produced in the US, though they also import, each spool of wire will tell you the place of manufacture. Beadalon is part of a larger corporation which manufacturers fishing line. So your beading wire’s not-so-distant relative is fishing line! And probably the reason each line has a “pound” weight limit – so if you are fishing for really big fish, you need a heavier gauge line. If you are stringing large bead, you need a heavier gauge wire!

Strands of Wire

You will notice that both Beadalon and SoftFlex have different number of strands.The more strands in the wire, the more it can flex without breaking – and the more strands in the wire, the higher the pricing.

SoftFlex Label

The SoftFlex Label on the wire gives you a wealth of information, including recommendations for use of each type wire.The wire shown is 49 Strands with a 26 pounds test strength, and a diameter of .019 Inches which is .48mm. Since our Venetian Beads are generally 1mm holes, this is a good choice.

Wire Gauges are confusing!

The larger the number – the smaller the wire

QUICK CONVERSIONS

A place for everything, and everything in its place?

Murano Glass Bead Trays – Barcoded & Priced in Color Waves

‘A place for everything, and everything in its place.’ is the famous quote by Isabella Mary Beeton in her book of Household Management written in 1861. It’s a great philosophy, but with some 20,000 SKUs, it’s easier said than done.

When we began importing Murano Glass Beads, we named them after the bead maker, their children, vaporetto boat stops, favorite cafes. Our bead makers named the designs after artists, famous names in Venice which encouraged our lack of organization. We had only a few drawers of beads. But over time we grew! Tanya took on our beads as a project in her senior year in Business Management at the University. So began our ‘semi-intelligent’ SKU assignment.

But the physical location of beads in an orderly fashion took a few more years. We all remembered where items were stored by sheer memory. And I confess to loving how the beads looked in drawers so I could see all the colors of a style when I opened the drawer. And seeing bunches of beads together made it easy to design jewelry. But it became apparent that it made for inefficient storage. Then we began the Location/SKU assignment and bar coding. This was key when we went to lots of bead shows, as we couldn’t remember prices for 800 pounds of beads we took to shows and sometimes exhibiting at 2 shows at the same time. Our bar coding let us check customers out quickly, accurately, giving them an itemized list of what they bought, along with SKUs for reordering online…certainly a novelty in a bead shows.

Locations and Alpha-Numerical Makes Picking Orders is Easier

Picking is made easy with our rolling carts with all the supplies you need to pack an order. We all have our favorite cart!

These little white cubicle boxes are where orders with problems go. This is not where you want your orders to linger. We send emails through our online store system to you or call to let you know.

This is not where you want your order to go! The problem boxes.

There’s more, we’re just trying to organize it. There are always the “orphans” the beads that have no mates, the I thought I ordered Red, how did these green beads arrive? And many other projects just waiting to be put on the web. And an abundance of design projects in various stages of completion.

So maybe we’d better read Mrs. Beeton’s book, again! ;>)

Visit our website where you can buy all these wonderful beads! http://www.venetianbeadshop.com

Let’s Make a Round Venetian Bead

The round bead is the first one you learn how to make. And most of our other shapes take off from the humble round bead. So it is the building block and our most popular bead shape. We buy and sell many thousands of round Gold Foil beads each year.

Murano Glass Torch for Making Beads – the Cannello

First you’ll need a torch, the kind we use in Murano is known as a cannello, it burns without oxygen and at a lower temperature (about 200 degrees) which allows our bead makers to add millefiori, exterior gold foil and to work the bead for a longer time than can be done in American torches. On the other hand, the American torches allow the bead maker to work in a pinpoint flame, which is useful in small decorations but require oxygen.

Effetre Glass Canes – Let’s Make Some Beads

It All Begins With the Canes

It all begins with the selection of the glass canes and there plenty from which to choose. We use Effetre, known generally in the industry as Moretti. It is a soft glass with a COE of 104, Soda Ash Glass which contains no lead and is worked at temperatures of about 945 C which is about 1733 F. Our bead makers work with larger diameter canes and we buy the canes 20 kilo at the time. They know to the gram how much glass it takes to make a bead! So, if we are working on a large order, we want all the beads to be from the same glass batch in the factory in Murano. Because, like carpet and fabric, each batch of glass is slightly different.

Bead Makers – Can you Rub Your Tummy & Pat Your Head?

While we say that the round is the easiest shape to make, it’s still difficult work sitting in front of the heat, attempting to roll the mandrel in one hand while making sure that the cane is in the heat and wrapping around your mandrel. Well it takes some practice, rather like rubbing your tummy and patting your head at the same time.

After you master the round bead you can advance to making many other shapes, it is about learning how much glass you need on the mandrel to make squares, bicones, hearts which we make with tools especially made for forming the shapes.

The bead must be thoroughly heated so the temperature is the same throughout the bead which is part of learning how to recognize this when the entire bead is red hot. In Murano, the maestro speak about “knowing” the glass. It is a feel and knowing the exact shade of red you need to be sure the bead is thoroughly heated. Once you are happy with the shape and any decoration, it still must be flash annealed (again to be sure the temperature is consistent).

Many of our beads are annealed in an electric “furnace” which lets the beads stay at a consistent temperature and then slowly bring the temperature down to prevent shock and breaking. Some of the smaller beads are annealed in vermiculite as in the picture above (the traditional method, though in early days it was just sand from the lagoon).

And they are made one at the time, and as we like to say “No two ever exactly alike!” the beauty of lampwork.

Working with Venetian Beads

Ever so often we have to remind ourselves that we are working with artisans who work with materials at 2600F in front of fire breathing torches for hours each day. They are not machines, nor robots. Each of beads is a small work of art with all the beauties and “defects” inherent in any product made by hand.

And we do not ask them to make just ONE perfect bead, we ask them to hundreds even thousands. Our largest order for one bead was for a department store and they HAND MADE over 100,000 of just one bead. I am sure they dreamed of these beads at night.

Our bead makers are top of the world in their industry, many counting 5+ generations in this industry with their family names written in the Libro d’Oro of Murano, the book was instituted in 1602, and from 1605 the heads of the Council of Ten granted the title cittadino di Murano to those heads of families born on the island.

They are so good at this they make it look easy, and try so very hard to respond to our every request for beads. If I can describe it, draw it, they can make it. So I try to remember these people know much more about glass than I will ever learn, but I am an eager student!

So if you bead arrives with a less than perfect hole, a bit ragged – enjoy the art. There are a couple of things you can do if this offends your artistic design.

Bead Caps Protect Your Wire and String Materials

1) Use a beadcap – then you won’t see it, and it will help protect the stringing material. But of course beadcaps will have slight imperfections, even though they are machine made.

2) Ream the bead to the smoothness that you like.

We use a Dremel, not available in your local hardware store, but available online in many places. Use with a diamond drill bit, like the one you see here. If is lightweight and easy to use. As a caution dip the bead in water continuously so it doesn’t overheat when you use the battery operated dremel, otherwise you will be able to see the marks on the bead.

If you only bead for a hobby, then the hand reamer shown in the insert will be more than sufficient.

For more information on Making Murano Glass Beads, visit our website and informational pages at:

Venetian Bead Shop – How Our Beads are Made

All About Handmade Murano Glass Beads

Designing Beads with our Bead Makers

We enjoy a very privileged friendship with our bead makers in Venice and Murano. Doing business internationally has it risks, there are no “laws” which cover commerce with individuals and small groups. It’s all about relationships and believe me you don’t want to burn one of those bridges in Venice. Venice is a very small place and our industry of handmade, artisan bead makers, is even smaller. Everyone knows everyone and most often they are related families or by marriage.

Designing Beads – Now You Need an Ipad??

We have been working with these wonderful people since 1993 when as neophytes we wandered the streets amid the heat of August, wondering where everyone had gone. During these decades we have encountered every one who makes beads or fuses pendants, and become known through the islands, investing both time and money into developing our suppliers. Some are easier to work with than others; however, the difficult, sometimes produce the most amazing beads!

Those who are willing to work with our ideas, collaborate with us and in turn, take our ideas and turn them into their own are our steadfast suppliers, friends, confidants, and family always welcome in our home for holidays.

With our OEM services we design the Murano Glass beads based on specific requirements of the large jewelry manufacturers, usually colors of the Season, patches of leather, fabric and sketches of their jewelry designs and armed with this we go to our bead makers with the requirements and the fun begins.

Sometimes we need to go to the Effetre factory in Murano to match canes for specific beads. The factory is not open to the public, but Muranese come there to buy their canes. Even after all these years, we need an escort of a local bead maker to enter into the warehouse and definitely no photography, but occasionally I can sneak a couple of pictures.

If the shape is new, it requires a trip to Carlo Donà, famed tool maker of Murano whose son Roberto has carried on his father’s tradition of making tools for the furnaces of Murano which is much more prestigious than making tools us lowly bead makers. (Yes in the eyes of the maestro who produce incredible works in the furnace, making beads is not so high on the totem pole!) Roberto can make any tool we need and he has a following around the world both in the furnaces and bead makers who have discovered the quality of the Donà tooling.

Then we make our first samples. While our bead makers are every bit the “artist”, we need production quantities, not just one bead. So many times we have to slightly modify the tooling or the design to make it easier to produce without loosing the beauty of our original design. As we always say, “No two are ever exactly alike“! That’s the beauty of hand made beads!

So we go through many stages, measuring the glass it takes, measuring the time it takes to make the bead, measuring the amount of 24kt Gold Foil, White Gold Foil or .925 Sterling Silver Foil. The time is of course the most expensive part of the bead and we can only come to a definitive time after having produced several hundred.

And we have to check the colors as different batches result in different colors. Red is our most difficult color and apparently also Effetre’s impossible mission as they tell us they have not changed anything, yet the shade is different each batch of glass. So for large productions we want to be sure to make it from the same batch. A batch of glass is about 250 Kilo (around 500 pounds) and they will not produce a new batch until the old batch, even if it is bruto (ugly) has been sold. We have to wait hoping some international customer will buy the excess as no one in Murano will buy it and then we can try again on the next batch.

At the end of a day where we may have argued over colors, techniques, delivery, designs, soccer teams and politics, there remains the friendship and time for a Brindisi (toast) together. And we enjoy a beautiful sunset looking towards Venice from Murano! And that’s the secret of getting the best beads in all of Murano and Venice.

A Day’s Work is Done, Time for a Brindisi!

Working with our Bead Makers

We’ve been doing this since 1993, and over the time, we’ve learned how the Venetians and Muranese work, adapted to their lifestyle and gradually found the best of the best who work with us as partners in developing new products. Enjoy a little of our story, Read our Blog

Matte Your Own Venetian Beads

One of our favorite ways to make a piece of Murano Glass Jewelry come alive is to use matte beads which gives you a contrast between our shiny Venetian Beads and the soft glow of the matte beads, a luster which resembles a Mother of Pearl glow. There are couple of ways to achieve this look, sandblasting, tumbling but the quickest, less expensive method is with etchall® a trademarked product sold in Stain Glass shops and some hobby shops.

We do sell some of our beads matted, but since it’s so easy, we think you’ll enjoy doing this in your workshop. It is also a cost saver as you do not need to buy both matte beads and the shiny beads, just buy the shiny and matte as you work.

To begin with, we use only etchall® Dip ‘n Etch, which you can find on our website in 4 oz bottles. Shop Now

It begins as a clear liquid but with use it turns dark as you can see in our bottle here as well. The color does not affect the ability to etch the glass.

For our Murano Glass (COE 104) it takes between 15 and 25 minutes to obtain that soft luste. Other types of glass you will need to experiment to find the optimal time.

We work with a much larger bottle of the liquid and pour into a small plastic (because it does not etch plastic) water bottle so that we can agitate easily and watch the process. Then we pour the liquid back into our larger container using a tea strainer to capture the now matte beads.

Rinse the beads thoroughly and allow to air dry.

NOTE: be sure to shake the container every couple of minutes to be sure the coverage is all over the bead. If you do not, you will have small marks where the beads touched, as the touching prevents the liquid from completely covering the bead.

NOTE: Do not use on any of our exterior foil beads as it will etch off the Gold Foil, Silver Foil.

Small Print

We would be remiss if we did not caution you about its use.

Do Not allow children to use.
Use on: glass, mirror, ceramic, porcelain, marble, or slate.
Re-usable: Yes
Disposal: Will not harm plumbing. Flush with plenty of water.
Wear gloves to protect your hands and certainly you do NOT want your jewelry to touch this.
Wear protective eye wear to prevent splashes which could damage your eyes
With use it will become discolored, but it still works.
Temperatures below 65F (18C) may form crystals. If this happens place closed container in warm water for several minutes.
NEVER PUT IN A MICROWAVE
Caution: Will etch porcelain sinks and tubs. Neutralize with water and baking soda before disposing in porcelain or ceramic sinks.
Consider yourself fairly warned that etching is NOT reversable.

Antique Your Stampings – How to Oxidize Metals

Did you ever wonder how jewelry gets that faint, slightly antiqued look? Did you know you can do it yourself.
Try this on small piece before you work on your best jewelry.
What is Oxidation?It is a chemical reaction where metals is deliberately tarnished or slightly discolored, leaving a patina (finish). It gives the metal that vintage look. Most often oxidation is used to bring out the details of a metal tag, pendant, so that you may see better the details of letters of designs.How do you oxidize?

One of the easiest ways is to use eggs and they are positively environmentally friendly. (Yes eggs!) The sulfur in the egg yolk can give you the vintage effect. Try this first on your small piece. Generally for a couple of pendants, 2 eggs should be sufficient. (You can stop the process at any point you like the patina you have achieved.)

Boil 2 eggs
Place the pendants in a ziplock bag.
Add the eggs and mash them up. (If you do not want the pendants and squashed eggs to mix together, put the pendants in a small mesh bag.)
Now wait. (Do not eat the eggs.)
Sorry VenetianBeadShop does not sell or ship eggs. :>)

Depending on the level of patina you want, will determine the length of time. Even leaving them overnight. (If you want to rush the process, you can microwave for about 10-15 seconds to get the eggs hot which releases the sulfur.) Wash your jewelry with soap and water when you are done.

If the egg method is too messy for you, maybe Liver of Sulfur is for you.

Liver of Sulfur – What is it?
It is a mixture of potassium sulfide, potassium polysulfide, potassium thiosulfate and potassium bisulfide. Each manufacturer has their own recipe. (Why it is called Liver, I have yet to determine.)NOTE of CAUTIONL Hazardous: You will need to use more caution.
Liver of Sulfur comes in a liquid and paste, a rock or crystal form. The crystal form has a short shelf life, whereas the liquid or paste have a longer one. The crystal (lump) form is also flammable.

Keep away from children or animals
Wear rubber gloves
Avoid spills, avoid getting in your eyes, wearing goggles is advised.
Use only in a well ventilated room
Be sure the item you want to oxidize is clean. Dropping the pieces into hot water not only help clean them, but the heated pieces will take the color faster.
Follow the directions on the liver sulphur. It will work best if the water you use is hot.
Use a plastic or wooden stick to mix the liver of sulphur with the water.
Insert your metal into the mixture.
Wait a few minutes – watch as it changes colors and when you are happy with the patina, remove it, be sure you have the gloves on. (Remove with a plastic spoon or tongs.)
Rinse the item thoroughly and let it dry.
Finally, polish the pieces. There are multiple ways to polish, steel wool, brass brush. Be sure to use the brass brush wet, so you don’t leave marks.
Cautions: Do not use reuse the container for any edible products. Mark it Liver of Sulfur – so no one accidentally uses it. For the full list of Warnings required by law of our Liver of Sulfur gel can be read here. Fine PrintFor proper environmentally correct disposal of liver of sulfur, read the label on your liver of sulfur, some are easily neutralized with baking soda, but as each manufacturer has slightly ingredients, it is best to read the label. You can use this on all copper or silver, fine and sterling and it also works on Precious Metal Clay (PMC). Copper will change color more quickly than silver.This is not an exact science and the outcome will vary each time – depending on the strength of the liver of sulfur, heat of the water, minerals in the water and your attitude (not altitude). Just give it a try and have fun.

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