Loving Lampwork Beads

Archive for the ‘Other Glass Beads’ Category

Chinese Lampwork Beads

Chinese lampwork beads seem like a real bargain at first. You can get so many for such a small price. But are Chinese lampwork beads really a bargain? Let's talk about it.

How the Beads are the Same

In some ways, these Asian glass beads are made just the same as the handmade lampwork beads here are in the States, Canada, Australia, etc. Hot glass is wound on a mandrel, forming a glass bead. The beads are cooled, then removed from the mandrel. Ta-da! A glass bead. So far, so good, right?

How Chinese Lampwork Beads are Different

Not so fast. There are several differences between the Chinese lampwork beads and the handmade lampwork beads made by artisan lampworkers. A quick rundown includes:

Chinese lampwork beads are mostly made by women and children at low wages. Because it's their livelyhood, the emphasis is on quantity, not quality. (While there are probably exceptions to this rule, I haven't heard of them yet.)
They are not made as carefully (quantity thing) and very often have rough holes that can cut beading wire.
The beads are not annealed, which means they are subject to cracking and just plain falling apart. (Here's the post where I talk about why annealing is so important to lampwork beads.)
The beads are generally not cleaned of the bead release left after removing the beads from the mandrel. This means that the bead release will eventually dust off onto you.

Now you are seeing the differences as to why the Chinese lampwork beads are much less expensive than the handmade lampwork beads made here.

Are Chinese Glass Beads Ever Appropriate?

There are times when these inexpensive glass beads may be appropriate, such as rainy day crafts projects for children. Or for teens who want a quick piece of jewelry then just as quickly discard it. The cracked beads can be made into mosaics.

But if you want jewelry that lasts, or you plan to sell your jewelry creations, you want the well-made artisan glass beads.

Locally, you'll most often find the Chinese lampwork beads at craft stores like Michael's, JoAn, Rag Shop, Hobby Lobby, etc.