Lampwork Glass Jewelry at Beaded Jewelry By Renee - 3
Lampwork Glass has become very popular in beaded jewelry designs. Lampwork glass comes in a variety of beautiful colors and designs. Lampworkers use a torch to melt the tips of colorful glass rods. As it melts, they wind the fluid glass around a mandrel, a narrow stainless steel rod. Later, when the bead is removed, the space occupied by the mandrel becomes a hole in the center of the bead--the hole used to string it onto jewelry. The beads are cooled in a kiln, where temperatures can be closely regulated. The beadmaker anneals the bead as soon as it comes out of the flame. That means the bead is left to soak up heat in the kiln so that all glass within it is the same temperature. The soaking temperature is high enough for glass to flow on some molecular level, but not so high that the bead ends up in a puddle on the kiln floor. After annealing, the artist begins to reduce the heat in the kiln, taking several hours to bring the beads to room temperature. The slow reduction in temperature produces glass beads with fewer stress points.
Orange and White Lampwork Bracelet 1560B - $53.00
Orange and White Lampwork Glass Hicintha Swarovski Crystals Stelring Silver 7 1/2" - 8" Adjustable Length
