Measurement Standard

As a rule, all jewelry beads, component and findings are measured in millimeters (mm). Beads can range from 2mm to 20mm or larger. They can be the traditional round shape or a number of other shapes and are made from a number of different materials. This page attempts to outline the various bead types available in order to facilitate discussions when designing custom pieces.

Materials
I use only sterling silver or better, or gold-filled or better in all my jewelry items. If other metals are used, they will be noted in the item description. I may use other metal in gift items, for instance the attachment ring in the zipper pulls is base metal.

Metals

• Silver
• Pure Silver - very soft, care needs to be taken when used in delicate pieces.
• Sterling Silver - Industry standards require sterling silver to be comprised of 925 parts of silver with 75 parts of another metal such as copper. Often you will see sterling silver items marked "925" describing the silver content.
• Argentium Silver - Considered "sterling" as the silver content is required to be at least 92.5% silver. Argentium silver's main alloy is with Geranium rather than copper, so Argentium silver doesn't tarnish like traditional sterling silver does.
• Hills Tribe Silver - Handmade beads and components crafted by the Hill Tribe in Thailand. The silver content is highter than sterling, about 95-99% silver as opposed to sterling at 92.5%.
• Gold
• Gold-Filled - gold layer applied over a base metal (like brass or copper). The amount of gold must equal at least 1/20 of the weight of the piece. Unlike gold-plating the gold layer of a gold-filled item will hold up to wear and can be used for heirloom quality pieces.
• Gold-Plated - a thin gold layer is applied over base metal, sometimes by electroplate. There is no standard for the amount of gold used(as there is with gold-filled) so the layer of gold is usually too thin to hold up to wear. Gold-plated components are not recommended for jewelry making.
• Other Metals
• Base Metal - a basic, non precious metal (usually nickel) used either by itself or as a base for gold-filled or plated items. Note: nickel is said to be the metal that people are most commonly allergic to.
• Nobium - originally used for aerospace applications, nobium is available in a wide range colors achieved through anodizing. Nobium is said to be highly anti-allergic.

Crystal

• Swarovski brand - Premium quality crystal from Austria, considered the finist in full-lead crystal. A precision machining and polishing process creates beads with stunning prisms.
• Celestial Crystal/Cosmic Crystal - Handfaceted and polished lead crystal from China. Since it is not machine cut the beads can vary slightly in shape/appearance.


Crystals are sometimes coated with special coating to provide a special effect. Aurora Borealis (AB) is probably the most common - It is an irridescent coating applied to the crystal. There are others: Dorado wich is a metalic bronze finish, Bermuda Blue which is a dark blue coating etc. Click below to view Swarovski color charts provided by HalsteadBead.com:
Swarovski Color Chart      Swarovski AB Chart      Swarovski Effects Chart

Pearl

• Faux Pearls - often made from glass they have the look and feel of real pearls. Swarovski makes some great crystal-based faux pearls in a variety of colors.
• Freshwater
• Cultured

Glass

• Lampworked
• Cats Eye - Also known as fiber-optic. Glass that reflects light somewhat like that of a cats eye.
• Czech glass - Machine cut and made in the Czech Republic

Natural Beads

• Wood/Bone/Shell/Ceramic - additional types of beads. For examples, check out the Natural Beads page at Fire Mountain Gems and Beads.

Gemstone