Glass Jewelry

Yashikushi · Feb 18, 2011

Glass Jewelry

INFORMATION AND IMAGES COURTESY:
THROUGH GOOGLE SEARCH.

Jewelry is generally understood on first thought, trinkets made of metals like gold, silver and platinum, studded with gemstones, or chunky tribal ornaments made of shells, stones, bones, clay and other naturally available material. The concept of glass jewelry is something that not many of us are familiar with.

Please go through thelink for further infos:

http://www.thebeadsite.com/BB-MGW.html

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Glass jewelry, glass bead jewelry is always one of the most sought after fashion accessory in the jewelry market. Glass is formed by heating quartz sand and potash with lime, and was invented in Egypt and Rome and later it was found in India too. The irresistible glass fashion jewelry is elegantly shaped and finished with extreme attention on each point. The jewelry items are most sought after by the fashion conscious generation of today. Possessing a touch of class and richness, the glass fashion jewelry has found a lot of patronage among buyers, worldwide. Manufacturers and exporters have been innovating and experimenting with glass to create new designs, while catering to the demands of the customers across the world.

Different styles of using glass
A splendid mixture of quality and style create the beautiful glass fashion jewelry. Glass is available in the form of beads that have hole going through them and chatons that do not have a hole. Glass bead jewelry are available in different color combinations. Beads and chatons are available in rounded, uncut or faceted shapes, which are either hand-polished or machine-polished. The final look of the glass beads would greatly depend on how it has been cut and polished. They can be given varied finishes like glossy, semi-matt or matt finish. They can further have transparent, translucent or opaque semblance.

Designs and finishes
Glass jewelry can be available in many forms like Dichroic, stained glass, fused glass and many other combinations resulting into great possessions. There are reprocessed glass jewelry too, which proves that some things become better the second time, as craftsmen impart new life to the glass and new look.
Fashion accessories crafted out of glass go with all occasion, no matter it is just a casual day, or a grand party night, some sober ones give final touches to your formal wears to office too. They have become a part of celebrations too and are perfect as a gift to show love and affection.

The demand for glass jewelry is increasing with the passage of time and it has coated its way in all sections of the society. This glass is further treated and molded into various forms of accessories and produce them into different shapes, sizes and colors. Glass accessories are exceptionally lighter when they are compared to other metal accessories. These are manufactured by highly skilled craftsman and in today's era even technology helps in their production and brings out modern designs.

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Products
The sparkling glass may be painted with vivid colors and innovative patterns to produce wide varieties of items like:

1. Glass pendants: Glass pendants are very popular and often served both aesthetic and utilitarian values and purposes. Glass pendants carved with fancy floral and leaf cut work evoke a sense of history and nostalgia regardless of how they are worn. Glass pendants are available in a variety of colors and designs and are also adorned with Pearls and other gemstones.

DESIGNS:
McManus Glass & Jewelry*Kiln Formed Dichroic Art Glass Jewelry & Jewelry for the Home : Dichroic Pendants 4 

McManus Glass & Jewelry*Kiln Formed Dichroic Art Glass Jewelry & Jewelry for the Home : Dichroic Pendants 3 Charming Includes a 24” Sterling Chain Galaxy Includes a 25 Strand Stainless Cable  Curvy Includes a 90 Strand Stainless Cab

Beaded Pendant - Zuzana's Handmade Beaded Artisan Jewelry Store

Pendants

http://www.giddyupcowgirl.com/Warm_Glass_Pendants.html

2.Glass bracelets: These are very popular among fashion conscious women. Though the bracelet may be made of leather or cloth or wood or metal, small pieces of glass beads studded all over it beautify the bracelet.

DESIGNS:
Bracelets at Kris Designs Catalog

McManus Glass & Jewelry*Kiln Formed Dichroic Art Glass Jewelry & Jewelry for the Home : Dichroic Glass Bracelets 

Beaded Bracelet - Zuzana's Handmade Beaded Artisan Jewelry Store

Bracelets/Anklets

3.Glass necklaces: Glass necklaces are fashionable all year round. They are usually made of fused glass and dichroic glass. The fused glass necklaces are made by fusing layers of glass together using a hot kiln. The dichroic glass necklaces are very popular because they are easily recognizable by the glitter like qualities. They also change color in different lighting situations.

DESIGNS:
Necklaces at Kris Designs Catalog

Necklaces and Sets

Beaded Eyeglass Necklace - Zuzana's Handmade Beaded Artisan Jewelry Store

McManus Glass & Jewelry*Kiln Formed Dichroic Art Glass Jewelry & Jewelry for the Home : Dichroic Glass & Drusy Necklaces

4.Glass earrings: Glass earrings are increasingly popular. They are available in different colors with ethnic and abstract designs. They are lightweight and available as hangings, dangles or tops. They are hand-painted and kiln-fired resembling miniature galaxies. The earrings made of dichroic glass changes color in different lights.

DESIGNS:
Earrings at Kris Designs Catalog

Earrings

Beaded Earrings - Zuzana's Handmade Beaded Artisan Jewelry Store

McManus Glass & Jewelry*Kiln Formed Dichroic Art Glass Jewelry & Jewelry for the Home : Dichroic Glass Earrings 2

McManus Glass & Jewelry*Kiln Formed Dichroic Art Glass Jewelry & Jewelry for the Home : Dichroic Glass Earrings 1

5.Bangles:Glass bangles are typical representative of Indian ethnicity, beauty and vibrant colors. Making the tinkling sounds, these glass bangles are worn as fashion bangles. For most married women in different parts of the country, glass bangles display the married status of a woman. Glass bangles or also referred as glass bangle bracelets are crafted in innovative patterns and they are the most popular accessories these days.

Glass bangles have been carved, filigreed, engraved, encrusting with gems, among other embellishments. At some point in the long history of Hinduism, this piece of glass jewelry also came to be recognized as a mark of a married Hindu woman.

High lighting the charm of womanhood, these bangles are indeed classic, creative and stylish. The best part is that they are available in varied colors and hence a mix and match combination can be made which can be worn with different dresses. You just take that perfect outfit and make your own custom collection as per design and colors. Glass fashion bangle bracelets are used for weddings, parties and other social events.

A style statement for all fashionable ladies, glass bangles can enhance the look of any outfit, as they are vibrant in colors and varied in effect.

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Process of making Glass Jewelry

Jewelry of glass is often made of cast glass pieces, fused glass, and glass beads. The glass beads themselves may be made in various ways: they could be wound, drawn, molded, lamp-worked, or made of dichroic glass.

There are composites, such as millefiori, where cross-sections of a drawn glass cane are applied to a wound glass core. A very minor industry in blown glass beads also existed in 19th century Venice and France.

It is believed that the Egyptians first used faience (a glazed fused quartz composite) but later developed the core, wound and mosaic methods of using glass to make beads and other decorations. They were the first culture to have glass-making guilds.

Glass beads, however, were not limited to the Egyptians in ancient times. There have been glass beads found in archaeological sites dated between 2,000BC and 10AD in both Austria and Switzerland.

In modern times, they have become a popular form of jewelery, especially in African cultures with necklaces,bracelets, and anklets made of these materials. They can be extremely colourful and bright, making them fashionable and popular in modern times for all cultures.

There are many types of beads and all are named according to the way they are made, including wound,drawn,moulded,lamp worked,Dichroic,furnace and lead crystal.

The Types of glass used to construct these include rod, sheet, soda lime, lead, and borosilicate. The material chosen often depends on the hardness, colour, durability, and size required.

Nowadays the Czech Republic is a well-known and reputable producer of these object. Both online and in stores worldwide, Czech glass beads will be sold for a much high price on average than most other types of glass beads. These Czech pieces are often used in necklaces and bracelets and are sold in renowned jewelers across the globe. The Czech's have a reputation for creating beautiful yet durable glass beads consistently.

Many people enjoy making their own jewelery.There are even stores where one can pay to make their own jewelery with glass beads that are provided for them. This has become a popular hobby for many people and has increased the recognition of glass beads across the world. In addition , Lamp work and other artistic crafty beads are back in vogue on the jewelery circuit.

Yashikushi · Feb 18, 2011

Types of Glass Beads

Please surf these links:

Weserperlen Glaskunst Barbara Wiemers

Gallery of glass bead artists

http://www.gets.cn/list.php?title=Beads

Furnace/Cane Glass beads

In this type of glass jewelry, glass of different colors is cut and glued together. It is then fired in a kiln. The individual pieces melt and become one.It is important to remember that since different glasses melt at different temperatures, it is vital to fuse only pieces that have compatible melting points. Overheating may cause a stress fracture that will eventually cause the glass to shatter. Fused glass is used to make interestingly shaped and colored jewelry, like pendants.

Furnace glass beads are a type of art bead used in jewelry making. They are hand crafted using glass working techniques to impart colors, shapes and styles.

1. Furnace glass beads, also referred to as cane beads, are made by stretching out molten glass. It needs to be kept hot throughout the process by putting it back into the fire. The end of the cane is clamped and the glass is stretched out. Other colors can be twisted in, and special tools can make shaped edges.

2. There are many different color combinations offered by furnace glass beads. Popular colors include black and white, different shades of blue, and multicolored twists.

3. The beads can be shaped in triangles, circles, rondelles, squares and rectangles. There are specialty shapes like flowers and long ovals.
Annealing
4. The furnace part of the bead name comes from the fact that they require large kilns to anneal in. Unlike lamp work beads, furnace glass beads are very long. They do not get cut until after the creation process is over.

Fused glass beads

Fused glass is a term used to describe glass that has been fired (heat-processed) in a kiln at a range of high temperatures from 593 °C (1,099 °F) to 816 °C (1,501 °F). There are 3 main distinctions for temperature application and the resulting effect on the glass.

Firing in the lower ranges of these temperatures 593–677 °C (1,099–1,251 °F) is called slumping. Firing in the middle ranges of these temperatures 677–732 °C (1,251–1,350 °F) is considered "tack fusing". Firing the glass at the higher spectrum of this range 732–816 °C (1,350–1,501 °F) is a "full fuse".

All of these techniques can be applied to one glass work in separate firings to add depth, relief and shape.

Most contemporary fusing methods involve stacking, or layering thin sheets of glass, often using different colors to create patterns or simple images. The stack is then placed inside the kiln (which is almost always electric, but can be heated by gas or wood) and then heated through a series of ramps (rapid heating cycles) and soaks (holding the temperature at a specific point) until the separate pieces begin to bond together.

The longer the kiln is held at the maximum temperature the more thoroughly the stack will fuse, eventually softening and rounding the edges of the original shape. Once the desired effect has been achieved at the maximum desired temperature, the kiln temperature will be brought down quickly through the temperature range of 815 °C (1,499 °F) to 573 °C (1,063 °F) in order to avoid devitrification(the process of crystallization in a formerly crystal-free state). It is then allowed to cool slowly over a specified time, soaking at specified temperature ranges which are essential to the annealing process(is a heat treatment wherein a material is altered, causing changes in its properties such as strength and hardness.). This prevents uneven cooling and breakage and produces a strong finished product.

Wound glass/lamp worked beads

Probably the earliest beads of true glass were made by the winding method. Glass at a temperature high enough to make it workable, or "ductile", is laid down or wound around a steel wire or mandrel coated in a clay slip called "bead release." The wound bead, while still hot, may be further shaped by manipulating with graphite, wood, stainless steel or marble tools and paddles. This process is called marvering, originating from the French word "marver" which translates to "marble". It can also be pressed into a mold in its molten state. While still hot, or after re-heating, the surface of the bead may be decorated with fine rods called stringers of colored glass. These are a type of lamp work beads.

And while still hot, or after re-heating, the surface of the bead may be decorated with fine straws of colored glass. These are called lamp worked beads.(The glass is ‘soft' glass or soda-lime glass)

The exact date of lamp work's invention is not known, but it is generally attributed to the medieval period. During the Dark Ages about the only demand for object d'art was coming from the Catholic Church, so glass bead work production was primarily limited to rosaries.

Lamp worked beads

Heres a link how to make a lamp worked Bead
How to Make a Lampwork Bead - Beadworx.com

The glass-making technique known as "lamp working" (aka: flame working, torch working) is an offshoot of the ancient core-forming technique, but instead of a beehive furnace, the soda-lime glass or lead glass rod is heated using an oil-burning lamp with a glass chimney, called an "argand lamp." Once in a molten state, the glass beads are shaped around a metal core using a combination of heat, gravity and manipulation by pressing the bead, or using tools such as paddles, mashers, picks or tweezers.

After the initial shaping of the bead, it can be decorated by applying molten fibers (stringers) on the bead's surface, creating dots or lines. Intricate patterns and designs can be made with the use of a sharp tool. When the design work is finished the bead needs to go through the annealing process where it is reheated to around 1000°F to reach the proper "stress relief" point. Lamp work beads can also be sandblasted or faceted using conventional lapidary techniques.

Yashikushi · Feb 18, 2011

Drawn Glass Beads

These units of glass jewelry are created by inserting a hollow metal tube into a ball of hot glass and pulling the glass strand out to form a glass tube. This tube is then chopped to produce individual beads. The modern version of the drawn glass beads are micro-beads or seed beads.

process:
Drawn glass is also a very ancient method.

There are several methods for making drawn beads and they all involve pulling a strand out of a gather of glass in such a way as to incorporate a bubble in the center of the stand to serve as the hole in the bead.

In Arekamedu this was accomplished by inserting a hollow metal tube into the ball of hot glass and pulling the glass strand out around it, to form a continuous glass tube.

In the Venetian bead industry, molten glass was gathered on the end of a tool called a puntile ("puntying up"), a bubble was incorporated into the center of a gather of molten glass, and a second puntile was attached before stretching the gather with its internal bubble into a long cane. The pulling was a skilled process, and canes were reportedly drawn to lengths up to 200 feet long. The drawn tube was then chopped, producing individual drawn beads from its slices. The resulting beads were cooked or rolled in hot sand to round the edges without melting the holes closed; were sieved into sizes; and, usually, strung onto hanks for sale.

A modern example of mechanically-drawn glass beads is the micro-bead or "seed bead", so called for its tiny, regular size. Seed beads are the most common type of modern glass bead. The seed bead is a small bead typically less than 6 mm, traditionally monochrome, and manufactured in very large quantities. Modern seed beads are extruded by machine and some, (Miyuki delicas) look like little tubes.

Crackle Glass beads

These beads have a fascinating crazed crackle look to them. Great for adding interest, texture, variety to your designs!
Crackle beads get their name from their "cracked" appearance giving them a unique and delightful veined look..
Some plasma lamps contain beads, bits and pieces of broken glass, or other material that impedes the shortest-path straight-line flow of the plasma. This generally causes the plasma to jump, crackle, and move around phosphors.
Some crackle tubes are filled with beads that are coated with phosphors that add different colors. A tube may contain beads that are all phosphor-coated, or uncoated beads. Uncoated beads are not necessarily clear. These crackle beads are unimpressive under white light.
The technique of creating crackle glass was Invented by venetian glass-makers in the 16th century. The crackle bead is made by immersing in cold water while the glass is molten hot. This causes the glass to crack. It then re-heated, and then either moulded or hand-blown into the desired shape. It is the re-heating of the glass after it is cracked which seals the glass and gives the surface its lovely smooth feel. Crackle beads are beautiful & vibrant beads, adding life & beauty to jewelery creations.

Molded/pressed Beads

Pressed or molded beads are associated with lower labor costs.
Molten glass beads were originally made in the Czech republic (Bohemia.) In this process, thick glass rods of about 20 cm are heated to melt and to feed into a device that stamps the glass, including a needle that pierces a hole. The beads thus made are rolled in hot sand to remove flashing and soften seam lines. One 'feed' of a hot rod might give around 10 - 20 beads, and a single operator can make thousands of such molten glass beads in a day.

Lead Crystal Beads

Lead crystal beads are machine cut and polished. Their high lead content makes them sparkle more than other glass, but also makes them inherently fragile.

Faceted Glass Bead

Please surf the link:
Faceted Beads, Round Faceted Beads,Faceted Glass Beads,Plastic Faceted Beads,Faceting, Gemstone Cutting

For making faceted glass beads, the glass batch is first poured into bead molds and then they are faceted with the help of a grinding wheel. Beads are then poured onto a tray and reheated for a very short period of time, just long enough to melt the surface. This rules out any minor surface irregularities from the mold. Beads thus made are known as fire polished faceted beads.

Yashikushi · Feb 18, 2011

Dichroic Glass Beads

Surf these links
What is Dichroic Glass, Di-Chros, Fused Glass, Lapidary, semi-precious stones, PMC, Precious Metal Clay

Dichroic glass beads by artist Ronda Terry

NASA developed dichroic glass in the 1950's and 1960's for use in satellite mirrors and space suit visors.
Dichroic glass contains micro-thin layers of metal such as gold, silver, titanium, and chromium, which reflect light at different wave lengths and when combined produce a brilliant array of colors.
In the 1970's dichroic glass became available to the public and artists where able to create jewelry and other ornamental glass items.

Dichroic Glass is one of the hottest materials being used by artisans today. It is an amazing material developed for the aerospace industry but discovered by warm glass artists.

Dichroic glass has a thin metallic film fused on it. As a result, when the glass is viewed from different angles, the metallic sheen changes colors.

Dichroic (from Greek) means two colors (Di-Chros). Various metals including gold, silver, titanium, and magnesium, are layered (each about one-millionth of an inch thick) to produce different colors and effects.

The resulting glass has the unusual property of reflecting one color (when placed against a dark background), while transmitting another color (when held up to the light). Dichroic glass has a shimmering effect similar to the iridescence observed in an opal; different colors can be viewed by examining it at different angles.

The colors are brilliant, saturated wavelengths of light, with shifting chameleon-like patterns, making it an exciting addition to Linda’s art jewelry.

All glass jewelry is designed, cut, assembled and kiln-fired by the artist resulting in a one-of-a-kind piece of soon to be wearable art that her customers will not see anywhere else.

Taking care of your Dichroic Glass jewelry:

To clean your dichroic glass jewelry just gently wipe it with a soft cloth until dust and/or fingerprints are removed. Never use cleaning agents to clean your jewelry. As with any other glass or gem product going from one temperature extreme to another can cause the dichroic glass jewelry to crack. Dichroic glass jewelry can be scratched or chipped if it comes in contact with an abrasive material or is accidentally dropped.

sea-glass beads

Please surf these links:

This Is Green: Surf Tumbled Jewels

Sea-Glass Necklace - Martha Stewart Crafts

Clever Nesting » Wire-Wrapped Sea Glass Earrings Tutorial

There is another type of glass jewelry that has not received its due recognition. This is sea-glass jewelry .

Sea glass is a product of nature.

It is made of naturally smoothed and polished pieces of glass that are washed onto shores.

Only glass that has been transformed and worn smooth by the sea or a body of water such as one of the Great Lakes can be called sea glass or beach glass. Sea glass or beach glass is our lost broken glass that has found its way to the sea where it is transformed into frosted gem like treasures by the natural tumbling action of the tides and by chemical reaction with the salty water.
It is a look that takes nature decades to create and it cannot be reproduced by any other means.

These beautiful sea glass 'gems' look as much like the broken glass they were created from as diamonds resemble coal or swans ugly ducklings.

Sea-glass is found in numerous shades, and makes very attractive jewelry.A piece of sea glass can't be altered or improved. Try to cut it and shape it as you would a diamond, or tumble it to make it a little smoother as you would a pebble and you destroy its pure, natural beauty.

Sea glass is often poetically referred to as "Mermaids Tears"((smooth, luminous sea glass...that shine through the seaweed and stones.)) and washes up on beaches all over the world.