Beading Q and A: All About Czech Glass Beads

Welcome to a new series of beading questions and answers that will be running regularly on this blog. Here at Eureka we get a lot of questions about all things having to do with beads and beading so it felt like a good time to get all this information down in an easy to search format.

Today I’ll be answering some frequent questions that we get about our gorgeous Czech glass beads.

Q: What’s the difference between Swarovski crystal and Czech fire-polished beads?

A: Swarovski is an Austrian manufacturer of faceted crystal beads in a huge variety of colors and shapes. It is a luxury fashion brand and it is incorrect to use Swarovski to refer to any other crystal beads.

Swarovski Crystal

The difference between crystal and glass is the much higher lead content of crystal with gives it superior clarity, sparkle and makes it much harder than glass. This allows it to be cut with more precise facets the same way that gemstones are cut.

Swarovski beads are made in a variety of shapes and can have up to 100 sharp-edged precision-cut facets. Swarovski is a fashion innovator, constantly working with top names and designers, sponsoring contests and remaining on the cutting edge of the industry. They are known for the high quality and standardization of their products which means that you can match colors even if you bought some of the beads years ago.

Czech Drops

Czech fire-polished beads are glass beads made in the Czech Republic with machine-cut facets that have been heated, or fire-polished, so that they are slightly rounded and very sparkly. Fire-polish is a generic term for a type of bead so there are many manufacturers both large and small in the Czech Republic. This makes for a wide and ever changing variety of colors, finishes and styles but it also means that finding more of a very specific color combination you bought before will be very difficult if not impossible.

Czech Fire-polished beads

Q: How are Czech glass beads made?

A: Bead manufacturers all over the world are secretive about the methods and equipment they use so it is impossible to know the details of the process. In general, Czech pressed glass beads are made in the Czech Republic from large rods of colored glass. The molten glass is pressed into molds of various shapes and sizes, with a needle forming the hole. Fire-polished beads are made from round pressed glass druk beads which are then cut with rough facets and then heated in giant ovens to soften the shape and add luster and sparkle.

There are a variety of common Czech glass bead shapes that you will come across and we carry all of them such as the very popular dagger bead, drop, table-cut, leaf and trumpet flower as well as many, many more.

How to Use Tangerine Tango, the Color of the Year for 2012

 

Pantone, the international color authority, has just announced the color of the year for 2012: Tangerine Tango. This vivacious and appealing reddish orange is meant to provide a sense of zest and vigor to pull through difficult times. Tangerine Tango is a color with a lot of depth, marrying the heart pounding rush of red with the warmth and vibrancy of yellow to create a magnetic color of boundless energy and sparkle.

An eye catching shade, Tangerine Tango is poised to become incorporated into a number of high fashion lines for the spring and summer and likely to transition well into fall, the traditional domain of orange hues. It will also be popping up in cosmetics as well as in interior and home design.

Because too much of the shade can be overwhelming, Tangerine Tango works well in combination with other shades such as blues, greens and browns or as an accent color which is why it is the perfect shade for accessories, especially jewelry. Something as simple as a lively orange necklace will breathe life into a tired outfit, bringing modern sophistication and adding energy and sparkle. Several well placed orange accessories have the power to make you shine in 2012 so take advantage!

In Swarovski crystals, you will find a range of gorgeous shades of orange that can be used independently or in combination to create that Tangerine Tango effect. Colors such as Padparadscha, Sun, Fire Opal and Hyacinth turn up the heat with their unrelenting vibrancy and are perfect for accessories such as earrings, necklaces and bracelets and work as a beautiful counterpoint to a darker outfit in, for example, navy blue or black. You can also check out our selection of special coatings, especially Chili Pepper, for an exciting and hard to find take on that fabulous orange glow.

 For even more color, finish, style and shape options Czech beads are unbeatable. High quality, unique and absolutely gorgeous, both the Czech Firepolish as well as the pressed glass beads come in some stunning shades that any fashionista would be proud to wear. Browse through our ever changing selection to see what dazzling new shades will catch your eye!

Swarovski Bicones in Hyacinth

Swarovski Announces Winners of the Urban Beautiful 2011 European Design Competition

The winner and two runners-up of the Swarovski 2011 URBAN BEAUTIFUL European Design Competition have been announced! From hundreds of entries, 20 semi-finalists were chosen whose designs were displayed at Treasure during London Jewelry Week. The jury panel made up of Annabel Sykes, Director for I-Beads, Laura Brocklebank of Swarovski, Designer Andy Farrow and Della Tinsley co- Director of London Jewelry Week, then convened at Swarovski head offices to choose the top three finalists. This year’s theme was based on the inspiring and powerful urban jungle. Using bold, large crystals in mesmerizing combinations of geometric forms, designs blended into the slick city architecture and created a unique avant-garde style.

Congratulations to Guzel Bakeeva on her winning design: Flavour of the Night. And also congratulations to Babett Császár and Aria Campbell-Kelly for their second and third place designs!

My favorite part about these design competitions is seeing the amazing creativity, talent and craft that goes into each and every design and getting inspired by all the sparkling Swarovski beauty! Check out the winning designs and what the designers had to say about them below!

1^st Place: Flavour of the Night

By Guzel Bakeeva, Russia

 

“When my pencil sketched drawings of this necklace, I imagined the dynamics of the urban night, the movement of vehicles, stormy life of bars and restaurants, over all this deep blue sky and a soft glow of orange lights. I created a necklace-brooch, necklace-transformer, that can be worn as a necklace perfectly for an evening dress, and as a brooch on her shoulder epaulets, that can be worn on a jacket. All details of the necklace are provided with pins, that allow a woman to feel comfortable even at the disco.”

Bakeeva made extensive use of 4mm, 6mm and 8mm Bicones and many different Swarovski crystal pendants in shades such as Crystal Red Magma, Crystal Silver Night, Amethyst and Heliotrope.

The jury panel was won over by Bakeeva’s use of Swarovski Elements and chains to create a striking and original piece that can be used in a variety of different ways – as a necklace, brooch or epaulette.

2^nd Place: A Night with Squares

By Babett Császár, Hungary

 

“I was inspired by Swarovski cubes and squares and the modern asymmetric forms with night city lights. I tried to compose the infinite-seeming possible varieties in one single creation.”

She used 3mm and 4mm Swarovski Bicones, in Indicolite Satin, Indian Sapphire, Jet, Iris Green, and Swarovski Crystal Frames in Crystal Vitrail Medium and Jet.

The panel felt that Császár’s beautifully detailed necklace was incredibly crafted together, showing immense creativity in the use of Swarovski Elements and seed beads.

3^rd Place: Two-Forty Five

By Aria Campbell-Kelly, Canada 

 

“The idea behind the necklace I designed for the Urban Beautiful Competition was to create something with an urban modern elegance. To me the prismatic shades of blue, black and gray are the colors of a night time lens flare, enhancing all the different colors in a single spot of light yet in the family of a vision.”

Campbell-Kelly made extensive use of Dark Indigo, Black Diamond, Jet and Crystal Silver Shade to create her beautiful architectural necklace. Her design, with its use of bold Swarovski Element pendants, impressed the jury panel with its structured, modern elegance.

There were twenty semi-finalists and I’ve listed some of my favorite here, for some more sparkle inspiration!

 

City Lights by Frann Healey, UK

Using Rose, Fuchsia, Fireopal, Colorado Topaz, Amethyst and Chilli Pepper AB Bicones and extensive use of Volcano flatbacks and pendants to evoke eras of British history where modern meets classic.

 

Lacittapiubrillantedelmondo by Chantal Stalder, Switzerland

Using Crystal Silver Shade, Dark Indigo, Metallic Blue, Montana and Montana AB extensively, Stalder imagined a modern crystallized city for her necklace.

 

Macadam traffic by Clotet Maria, France

This necklace was made using mainly Swarovski Bicones in 4mm and 6mm in colors such as Light Azore, Light Sapphire, Caribbean Blue Opal, Sapphire, Capri Blue, Pacific Opal, Aquamarine, Indian Sapphire, Metallic Blue, Blue Zircon, Montana, Star Shine, Volcano, Jet, Black Diamond, Crystal, Comet Argent, Alabaster, Morion , Ruby, Citrine, Light Siam, Siam, Sun, Red topaz, Fireopal, Topaz and Jonquil.

Color of the Year for 2011: Honeysuckle

Pantone, the global authority on color has announced honeysuckle as the color of the year for 2011.

Honeysuckle emboldens us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor. A dynamic reddish pink, Honeysuckle is encouraging and uplifting. It elevates our psyche beyond escape, instilling the confidence, courage and spirit to meet the exhaustive challenges that have become part of everyday life.

“In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going – perfect to ward off the blues,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Honeysuckle derives its positive qualities from a powerful bond to its mother color red, the most physical, viscerally alive hue in the spectrum.”

Eiseman continues, “The intensity of this festive reddish pink allures and engages. In fact, this color, not the sweet fragrance of the flower blossoms for which it was named, is what attracts hummingbirds to nectar. Honeysuckle may also bring a wave of nostalgia for its associated delicious scent reminiscent of the carefree days of spring and summer.”

Honeysuckle is guaranteed to produce a healthy glow when worn. It’s a striking, eye-catching hue that works well for day and night.

This color is translated into the crystal spectrum by the Swarovski colors Light Rose, Padparadcha, Fuchsia and Rose.

Play around with different combinations of these crystals or pair them with cool blues, bright reds or silvery gray neutrals for a variety of different looks.

Sunflower Pendants with Swarovski Rivolis and Czech Daggers

These gorgeous beaded pendants by the fabulous Pat Riesner are a stunning combination of Swarovski crystal components, Czech glass beads and seed beads. The center is a glittering precision cut Swarovski rivoli, surrounded by seed beads, Swarovski bicones and finally Czech daggers for that final flair.

Because of the vast selection of colors available from Swarovski and our constantly evolving collection of high quality Czech glass beads, virtually any color combination is possible!

Pat is a New York based beadworker who got started 9 years ago. She is also a wonderful beading instructor and designer whose first love is writing directions and doing original graphics for teaching. You can contact her for more information about her designs and classes at pat@shop2kill.com.

Beyonce Rocks Swarovski Crystal Crown on New Album

Beyoncé’s new album, 4, which dropped on June 28th is sure to be another smash hit for the songstress, but it’s what she’s wearing in the album artwork that has Swarovski crystal fans all abuzz.

This stunning crown by Indian jewellery designer Farah Khan Ali is entitled ‘Goddess’ and was made as celebration of femininity; the wearer of this crown represents the goddess within all women. The crown is encrusted with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS in shades of gold and orange.

Farah Khan ali created this piece for Swarovski Runway Rocks Mumbai a few years ago. This gorgeous one of a kind peice is sure to inspire jewlery designers across the globe and fits well with the trends towards metallics and browns like bronze and copper that we have been seeing recently. It’s a surefire trend starter!

New Custom Coating on Swarovski Rivolis: Starlight!

We have just received our ever popular Swarovski rivolis in a brand new custom finish: Starlight.

This fabulous and unique after-market coating glimmers with ethereal layers of color inspired by twilight. Evening’s deepening silvers, whispers of lavender and traces of sunset gold combine to create a refined and sophisticated finish that looks elegant next to Swarovski crystal pearls and dynamic combined with other custom coatings like Purple Haze or Light Vitrail.

The rivolis available in this custom finish are 12mm, 14mm and 18mm. Rivolis make gorgeous centerpieces and have that gem-like quality of rich, glittering dazzle so try out the Starlight coating and see what magic it can add to your designs!

Edison New Jersey Beads Expo

We just got back from our Edison New Jersey Bead Show and had a wonderful time as usual.

We love spending time in Edison with the vibrant community of beaders there. We got the chance to see some fabulous beaded creations made with some of our most special beads like Susan’s dagger bracelet.

And we love chatting with some of our favorite beaders who always come see us in Edison. Our next visit to Edison will be in November where we will have our full line of extremely popular holiday kits and designs. In the meantime, we’ll be in Fishkill, New York this coming weekend, July 16th and 17th. Come out and join the fun!

Brand New Farfalle Bead Colors!

We are now carrying several brand new colors of our very popular farfalle seed beads: Alabaster Picasso, Black Picasso, Chalk Bronze Lumi and Chalk Green Lumi. Click here for more information about how to use these gorgeous and versatile beads and check out these stunning new colors:

Alabaster Picasso: a gorgeous warm neutral

Alabaster Picasso

Black Picasso: a stylish black, gray and white mix

Black Picasso

Chalk Bronze Lumi: a soft glowing bronze

Chalk Bronze Lumi

Chalk Green Lumi: a mossy green

Chalk Green Lumi

 

Don’t forget to stop by our booth at the Innovative Beads Expo in Edison NJ this weekend, July 9th and 10th! Directions and other details can be found here. And check out our entire 2011 show schedule here.

Happy Beading!

 

 

Swarovski Designer Heart Pendants by Manish Arora

Recently, Swarovski Elements has announced a fabulous new collaboration with New Delhi-based fashion designer, Manish Arora. He has created a special collection of heart shaped crystal pendants entitled “Love Story of the Heart.” Each individual piece represents a different facet of love, from passion to commitment to longing.

CRAZY 4 U HEART

New article: 6260

This new interpretation of the classic symmetrical heart shape, is cut to allow the facets of the crystal to radiate light from the center of the pendant to evoke the broad smiled optimism of that first exquisite flush of love.

DEVOTED 2 U HEART

New article: 6261

This heart shape is stretched out and more organic, connoting the naturalness of devotion that comes with a long relationship. The new hole position underlines the asymmetrical design and the diagonal look.

MISS U HEART

New article: 6262

The empty space at the center of this pendant mirrors the emptiness we’ve all felt when missing a loved one. This crystal pendant is a way of keeping those you love in your heart while meditating on their absence.

FOREVER 1 HEART

New article: 6263

A new take on the “two pieces become one” motif, this crystal pendant has a unique matte shine which contrasts with the sparkling brilliance with the “gluing together” point of contact. Imparting a strong feeling of togetherness and everlasting love, this pendant is truly unique and spectacular.

TRULY IN LOVE HEART

New article: 6264

This heart pendant is cut with honeycomb facets that give it an organic brilliance and sparkle. In this way the cut mirrors the exhilaration of new true love.

Check out Eureka Crystal Beads’ selection of these pendants as well as many many more here.