How are lamp work glass beads made?
Lamp work glass beads are made one at a time over an open flame. A skilled bead maker melts a rod of glass and wraps a bit of molten glass around a copper wire. Many of our beads are made with a core of 24k gold foil, silver foil, or dichroic glass, which give the beads an internal glow. There may be several layers or colors of glass rods used to create a particular effect in molten glass. The bead maker must take care to work at a constant temperature over the flame, or the bead will crack. Finally the bead is allowed to cool and ‘annealed’ to insure it will not break. We use a myriad of ancient and modern techniques to make our exclusive beads, and are continuously developing new glass making methods.
Lamp work glass beads are made one at a time over an open flame. A skilled bead maker melts a rod of glass and wraps a bit of molten glass around a copper wire. Many of our dichroic glass art beads are made with a core of 24k gold foil, silver foil, or dichroic glass, which give the beads an internal glow. There may be several layers or colors of glass rods used to create a particular effect in molten glass. The bead maker must take care to work at a constant temperature over the flame, or the bead will crack. Finally the bead is allowed to cool and ‘annealed’ to insure it will not break. We use a myriad of ancient and modern techniques to make our exclusive beads, and are continuously developing new glass making methods.
