The summer's biggest sale hit here at Uniq Perler has, among other things, been our popular seed beads.
Over the summer, a lot of you have chosen to buy some of our beautiful seed beads and jump in and make your own jewellery.
We are not surprised, because we ourselves are incredibly happy to use and work with seed beads.
1. Because they are incredibly easy to work with and with a little help, such as our popular pearl needle, the jewelry project with seed beads becomes even easier.
2. The pearls come in all kinds of beautiful colors and it is only your imagination that sets the limits to what jewelery you can make with these pearls.
Mix seed beads with some beautiful pendants and clasps and you can make the most adorable bracelets, necklaces and earrings, either as single jewelery or sets.
3. A piece of jewelery made with seed beads is a light and elegant piece of jewellery, either as a bracelet, earrings or necklace. A piece of jewelry made of seed beads is the perfect accessory for you who love jewelry that goes with everything. Whether it's for work clothes or a party dress, seed beads are always a good accessory, both because they can stand alone, in sets or be mixed with some of your other beautiful jewellery.
As we have done before, we will now give you some facts and information about these pearls. Maybe you're reading something you knew? Or maybe you find out something you didn't know? If you are curious about history, it is also worth taking a look here! Finally in this post, we list the different manufacturers and brands of seed beads. Enjoy!
History class starts here! - Boring? So hurry up and jump ahead in the post :-D
We start 2400 years before Jesus was born, here pearls have been found in Asia, Germany and Egypt. Here the pearls were used as a kind of currency and it was not unusual for the pearls to be traded and exchanged for food, drink and livestock. When we reached the Roman era from about 100 years before Jesus to 400 after the birth of Jesus, the Romans began to seriously mass produce these glass beads and use them when trading with other civilizations.
We then jump forward 400 years to the Vikings, who at the time invented some new unheard-of glass-making methods, i.a. for pearls, which we know today as Millefiori pearls .
When we reach the Middle Ages, Italy really takes over. Here, Venice becomes a major power in the world of pearls. Thanks to some new furnaces and new methods of producing glass, mass production takes on a whole new meaning and this means that the Italians have a monopoly on the pearl industry from 1290 until around the 20th century.
In the middle of the 20th century, the Czechs had come so far with their knowledge of pearls that they now produced more glass pearls than the Italians from Venice. This is actually because the demand for Murano pearls was so great that they could not keep up with it themselves and therefore long glass tubes were sent to the Czech Republic to be cut and polished. In addition, glassmakers from the Czech Republic traveled to Murano to work with these unique pearl skills and when they returned home, they had these skills with them in their luggage, while also having new ideas for how to work with glassmaking.
This has resulted in us today having Murano as the pinnacle of glass bead production.
Murano is a quality stamp and therefore they make several different types of beads and not just seed beads which this post is about.
The Czechs, on the other hand, have put themselves in the driver's seat within the seed bead universe and have, through the 20th century, perfected the manufacturing know-how of these beads. In recent times, the Japanese seed beads have also come in and have gone straight to the top, due to their fantastic continuity of quality beads. They have succeeded in producing pearls that have the same hole size, the same beautiful shine and polish over and over again, and that is why they are today highly recognized for their seed beads, as they have managed to maintain the lasting quality of their pearls.
Who makes the best quality seed beads? Which brands should you go for if you are a quality-conscious person?
That's a super good question! ;-) - Let's start by stating that there is generally a very good standard for the quality of seed beads, but that there are of course some producers who stand out from the others.
In terms of quality, the Japanese seed beads have for a long time been regarded as some of the best in the seed beads universe. The Japanese manufacturers such as Miyuki , Matsuno and Toho have succeeded in making seed beads that are continuous in both the size of the pearl, the hole size of the pearl and most importantly, the color, luster and polish of the pearls.
But Czech seed beads are right on the heels of their Japanese cousins. The producer Previosa Ornela has for many years been recognized for their quality pearls. That is why they, like the Japanese producers, have succeeded in building a quality predicate on their Preciosa Ornela pearls. They have also succeeded in being consistent in the quality of the pearls' sizes, the hole size of the pearls and the pearls' colours, luster and polishing.
Jumping to the Chinese and Indian manufacturers of seed beads, they fall a little short of the high standard set by the others.
However, pearls of a very fine standard are also made from these two countries. That's why you shouldn't let yourself be intimidated either. Their beads are generally nice and attractive in both color and size and are the cheaper alternative to Japanese and Czech seed beads.
Are seed beads used for anything other than jewellery? If you guessed yes, then you are absolutely right!
They are mainly used for jewelry and are a favorite for those of you who have just started making jewelry yourself because they are so easy to work with.
However, it is not unusual to see seed beads being used as "jewelry" on bags, dresses, purses and footwear. In fact, it is quite popular today to decorate either your clothes or your bag with a beautiful pattern of these pearls, and the clothing/shoe and bag manufacturers know this very well, which is why it is often seen that clothes, shoes and bags are decorated with these pearls.
What are seed beads actually made of and can I make them myself and finally, how do I care for them?
The vast majority are made of glass and are therefore also considered normal, but then come seed beads made of metal and finally seed beads made of ceramic.
Do you have the courage to make glass beads yourself, or are you just curious about how to do it? Then follow the link below at danskeglasperler.dk . They have created a detailed guide on how to make these fine glass beads yourself at home.
Production of glass beads:
http://danskeglasperler.dk/?page_id=84
Care of glass beads and seed beads:
How do I care for glass beads so they stay nice? - Easy, the best way to keep e.g. seed beads clean is lukewarm water with a small amount of washing-up liquid in it. Leave the beads in the water for a while and then pick them up and dry them. Voila and you have the finest, purest pearls.
Which manufacturers and types of seed beads can I choose from? - We list them for you below.
- Japanese seed beads: Below are brands such as Matsuno , Toho and Miyuki that we sell here at Uniqperler.
- Czech seed beads: Here are the very large Previosa Ornela , which produces the popular Preciosa Ornela . They can also be found at Uniqperler.
- Chinese seed beads: Here there are countless suppliers and producers, one of them is called Jiangyin Jinhui , who are known in their home country for making e.g. seed beads of good quality.
- Indian seed beads: India also has a relatively large production of beads, however they are not as popular as some of the above producers. However, there is a manufacturer such as Beadman Inc. They are quite large and recognized at home in India and pride themselves on making pearls of fine quality.
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Follow the link below and see our selection of seed beads: