EncycloBEADia

This page is a knowledgebase of "techy" words in the beading world. I bet you don't understand some of the special terms in my blog. Some of it took me some time to understand by researching through the web. I will add little by little of it over time. If you don't understand those special terms that I have not blog it down here, please do email me, ya.
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Artistic Wire
Artistic Wire is a brand name. It is a permanently coloured coated on copper based wire.

Anti-Tarnish wires
Nickel silver are an example of anti-tarnished natural wires. Some Artistic Wire silver coloured wire are coated with clear polyurethane to protect the wire from oxygen and makes it non-tarnishing.

Crystals beads
Crystal beads are in fact leaded glass that are cut into faceted shapes. Lead oxide are added to the molten glass gives lead crystal a much higher index of refraction than normal glass, and consequently much greater “sparkle”. The presence of lead also makes the glass softer and easier to cut. The more lead is in the glass, the more sparkle it gets. Note that they are however not gemstone type crystals.

Czech fire polished crystals
These has slightly less lead compared to Swarovski. Therefore, it is slightly less sparkle, and cheaper than Swarovski.

Cubic Zirconia
Cubic Zirconia is the cubic crystalline form of zirconium dioxide (ZO2). It is hard, optically flawless and appears almost exactly the same as a high quality diamond would. It is relatively inexpensive to produce and can be made into a variety of colors.

Swarovski Crystals
These are simply fine glass infused with about 35% lead/pewter (and a few other minerals) to give it a greater shine than ordinary glass. They are also cut into faceted shapes. At this moment, Swarovski crystals are the most sparkle / brilliant crystals in the market. Therefore, it is more pricey than regular crystals beads. Note that they are however not gemstone type crystals.

Tarnish
Once metal is exposed to the air, chemicals and humidity for long period of time, the metal will discoloured due to oxidation.
Sterling silver, copper wire (unless stated is non-tarnished), are examples of tarnishable wires.


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