A few words about Murano Beads:
Millefiori Beads Known as thousand flowers ( millefiori is the italian word for thousand of flowers), these Murano beads have been popular since centuries. The Murano bead is made by first gathering a small ball of clear or matching color transparent glass, then rolling the ball over small slices of the millefiori cane or carefully placing them on the ball. The bead maker continues rotating and evenly heating the bead until the millefiori slices are completely formed into the bead.
Sommerso Beads
Sommerso means submerged and is a description of how this bead is made, small flecks of color, often aventurina (A Venetian word) are suspended inside transparent glass. It is a very popular Murano Glass Beads.
Fiorato Beads
Decorated with flowers, as fiore means flower in Italian, this word means small flowers. The bead can be made in any technique, gold foil, silver foil, sommerso, however on the outside there will be a small flower which is drawn using molten stringers of colored glass. Murano Fiorato beads require more skill and art than sommerso for making.
Gold Foil, White Gold and Silver Foil
Murano Beads made by first making a small ball of the glass and then rolling the molten glass ball across thin sheets of 24kt gold foil, 24kt white gold foil or .925 sterling silver. The 24kt gold foil under the colors gives it a rich glow, enhancing the color, while the 24kt white gold foil gives the bead a softer shade of color, refined and warm. Using .925 sterling silver, the true color of the glass is brightened and becomes crisp. The white gold is an alloy with 18kt gold foil and white colored metals, the same as in fine jewelry.
Blown Beads
The blown beads are the only beads made in a real Murano glass furnace or in small laboratories using "glory holes". They are made using a technique called filigrana the glass blower first takes a blowpipe and rolls over canes of colored glass giving the striping in each bead. They may be finished in spirals, or straight striping, and may be balls, or teardrop shape or our very popular pennies which are balls which have been flattened.
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