Glass beads are a beautiful and fascinating creation. Over the years, they have served as gifts, artworks, currency and even symbols of status. Native Americans, Eqyptians, Vikings and Romans have created, traded and made body adornments out of these beads. Just like the colors in the spectrum, the types and colors of beads made from glass available today is limitless. Some of the popular varieties include dichroic, lampwork, hand-blown and Czech beads. No matter which type of jewelry you are looking to create, there are beads available to meet the needs and demands of every jewelry designer.
Apart from these types, there are also vintage glass beads available and in this article, we will take a look at what these really are.
There are many people who like to collect vintage glass beads. Most use them in their jewelry creations and most people keep them as part of their collections. The reason is that these small and delicate objects capture both the imagination and the eye with their individual history and unique beauty. There are many different types and they are made using different techniques. Basically, they are made with attention to detail by experienced craftsmen. As these beads age, their appearance change slightly and this slight change does not take away from the appeal of the beads, but further enhances their beauty.
Not any bead made of glass can be categorized as vintage glass bead. To qualify for this category, they must be at least 30 years old, but not more than 100 years. Those which are more than 100 years old are termed antique instead of vintage.
Types Available
There are many different types of vintage beads and one of the most popular is Swarovski crystal beads. These beads are produced in Austria, but they are collected and treasured by bead collectors around the world. Machine is used to cut and polish these beads which give them their trademark clarity and sparkle.
Czech glass beads are also very popular because they are made from hand-cut glass. These beads make use of oxides instead of lead to give them sparkle and shine. Murano is another type of bead that can fall in the vintage glass beads category provided they were made more than 30 years back. A variety of techniques are used to produce these beads. Lastly, there are West German glass beads which were produced in the vintage period. These beads are high quality and unique and every collector’s delight because of their color, workmanship an