“Use an AB finish when you want that extra WOW factor!”
Jewelry makers have a language all of their own. We talk in gauges, and millimeters and shapes that only we understand. We don’t even realize we do it, but we do. Try asking a non-jewelry maker if they know what a briolette is or if they prefer half hard or dead soft wire. You will surely be met with looks of confusion!
| Make a Statement with Fired Agate Beads Add sophistication to jewelry designs with fired agate beads, including new mustard fired agate & milky fired agate. Also known as crackled agate, this gemstone’s appearance is created by applying heat, hence the name “fired.” In person, these new faceted round beads sparkle & shimmer irresistibly! More news: Contest Early-Bird Deadline! |
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Jewelry Inspirations: |
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 “Cracked & Wrapped” Bracelet |
 “Midnight Enchantress” Earrings |
 “Milky Way” Chainmaille Necklace |
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Can you spot the bead?
Here’s a Rings & Things logo painted by Noryan on one of our loading dock doors:
Bead? What bead?
Leave a comment if you know what I’m asking about! 🙂
Just for fun! These ‘mystery beads’ were passed along by a friend. I snapped a quick photo–can you guess what any of them are?
Punchline of a joke?
Real beads! Trade beads. Very collectable trade beads, in fact.
7 things you didn’t know about “vaseline” beads:
1: Many fluoresce. Uranium salts were once used to color beads yellow, giving this side effect. Look at ’em in daylight (before). Put ’em under blacklight (after). Whoa!
Uranium salt/vaseline beads BEFORE
Uranium salt/vaseline beads AFTER
Our #22-708-01 clear-glass vaseline bead does not fluoresce, nor does red or
opaque blue. Not all green beads either (depends on age).
2: Why are these generically called vaseline beads in “campfire parlance”? Newer reason: because of their similar shapes — often a bicone — to the beads originally called vaseline beads. Original reason: Vaseline beads were named for having the same shiny, translucent appearance as petroleum jelly.
3: However, not all have the vaseline, “greasy” colors that originally gave these beads their name. Here’s a non-slippery vaseline bead:
Non-slippery vaseline beads
4: The uranium-salt (glow-in-the-blacklight) vaseline beads were most likely made between 1830 and 1915. That’s some old, valuable beads!
5: The Czech names for the green and yellow varieties are “Anna green” and “Anna yellow”. Do you know why? (I don’t–yet. Will a knowledgeable reader chime in?)
6: Vaseline beads with uranium salts are considered safe because vitrification “traps” the uranium inside the glass. Testing suggests that you can wear uranium-salt glass beads for up to 40 years before the radiation exposure equals that of getting a single x-ray at the doctor’s office.
7: We get these beads from Mali, in West Africa. Did you know? Mali is where you’ll also find the ancient city of Timbuktu, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Here’s one more image of the spectacular ‘black-lit’ vaseline-bead effect:
The CZ’s are here!
Cubic zirconia are sweet. They’re very popular at our bead shows. And we’ve added some wonderful ones…
Sweet how? Cubic zirconia beads have especially fine faceting and exceptional clarity. They shine like crazy!
Check ’em out in the “Russ’s Picks” section of our online store…
“Metal core”? Don’t worry. No electric guitars here…I’m just talking about a pretty little kind of charm bead 🙂
For charm lovers, it’s a whole Pandora’s box of silver lining (or silver-plated lining) !*
So many kinds to adorn your bracelets…and more:
And, did you know? You can even make your own, by lining the center of your own large-hole bead with one of our sterling grommets! (A.k.a. bead spindles, bead cores, eyelets.)
Plus, you should mine our Design Gallery’s “search” feature to dig up metal-core jewelry inspirations…
Metal-core charms have captivated 
Russ Troll, the bead with a heart of pewter! 🙂
* Beware of competitors’ lower-quality, non-silver lined versions.
Drilled river rock rocks!
Our latest special find (May 2010) is drilled river rock beads. (Riverstone. Beach rock. River rock. Beach stone…)
We noticed what enthusiastic reactions this stone was getting…because it makes really cute, teeny little beads:
…and we loved the feel of donut beads with organically irregular, water-smoothed edges:
…plus the fact that drilled river rock taps into a fashion tip going back to the Stone Age:
…you can’t go wrong with petite tip-drilled pendants!
I made a necklace with these and showed it off at our bead shows, to nice reactions…
Go with the flow, check out beautiful riverstone beads made in the USA (by Mother Nature). They’re a limited-stock find!
Extra bonus: enjoy R&T’s Bead Shapes Glossary page, where you’ll learn the difference between tip-drilled and corner-drilled, nibblets and tiles, rings and donuts.
Red creek jasper is one design route you’ll gladly follow!
Gemstone beads of red creek jasper vary really pleasantly…
…each bead is a unique display of interesting patterns. 
You’ll see shades like rusty reds, earthy ochres, moleskin taupe and glints of gray.
By the way: the distinctive mix of warm and cool tones in red creek jasper pairs marvelously with both copper and silver.
Without going broke!
Cultivate organic shapes! “Baroque” just means irregular shapes, not perfectly round — like a natural pearl.
Sophisticate your jewelry!
Baroque crystal pearls by CRYSTALLIZED™ – Swarovski Elements.
We’ve got them in two sizes and ten mellow hues. You get them by the hundreds, at cents per pearl.
Faux was never so go!
*PS: not to be confused with the excellent Swarovski baroque crystal pendants 🙂