Borosilicate Glass -  Borosilicate glass is created by adding boron to the traditional glassmaker’s mix of silicate sand, soda and ground lime.  Initially it had industrial uses (as Pyrex by Corning, for laboratory equipment, by Bodum for coffee-plunger glassware, among others).  Coloured borosilicate, for the art glass trade, was first widely brought onto the market in 1986 when Paul Trautman founded Northstar Glassworks.  There are now a number of small companies in the USA and elsewhere that manufacture and sell coloured borosilicate glass for use by art-glass craftspeople.

Cathedral Beads - These Czech fire-polished glass beads have faceted sides and intricate metallic, enhanced detailing on the top and bottom.  Each of these is a treasure in itself, and they add exquisite charm wherever they are used.  Beautiful whether strung alone or in combination with other beads.

Cat’s Eye - Glass that reflects light in a way reminiscent of a cat’s eye.  The terms ‘chatoyant’ and ‘optic’ are also used in this context.

Celestial Crystal™ - These beads are hand-faceted and hand-polished in the Orient from leaded-crystal glass, making each bead minutely different and giving jewellery a unique hand-crafted look.  Each bead is extremely reflective, creating a cascade of sparkling colour.  Celestial Crystal™ features rich, subtle colour tones that add an understated elegance to the most sophisticated designs.

Cherry 'Quartz' - Cherry ‘quartz’ is manmade from glass, with solid and opaque pink striations ranging from deep to light colour tones.  Also called strawberry ‘quartz’, this manmade material is cut by the same factory that cuts the gemstone beads I get.  Colour is opaque and solid, striating through components in deep and light tones.

Cinnabar (imitation) - Cinnabar beads are produced in a process combining layers and layers of coloured lacquer, then hand-carved with the intricate patterns reminiscent of ancient Asia.  Red cinnabar beads are designed to resemble natural coral material.

Cloisonné -  Created by skilled artisans, each cloisonné bead can take up to four hours to produce.  Dozens of tiny cells are arranged on the bead’s surface, filled with enamel colour, and fired.  Then each bead is polished, revealing intricate and beautiful designs.  Since each bead is handmade, colours and styles may vary.

Cubic Zirconia - Synthetic gemstone developed in 1977 to simulate a diamond.  Now available in many colours to simulate other gemstones including citrine, sapphire, ruby, zircon, peridot.

Czech Glass Beads - Czech beads are renowned for their excellent craftsmanship dating back to the 11^th Century.  Made of quality glass, the vivid colours will not fade and are consistent throughout the line.  My items use Jablonex prime-quality, traditional Czech glass beads.  Jablonex is the name behind the well-known Czech seed beads and Czech fire-polished beads, with exceptional colour and size consistency.  The beads are optically-polished for a scratch-free surface creating maximum brilliance.

Delica Beads - Delica seed beads are perfectly cylindrical modern Japanese beads with thin walls and large holes.  They can be smooth or six-sided.  Their uniform size and shape make them perfect for precision work.

Desert Sun Beads - These are clear glass beads that are first coated in gold or silver plating, then fired.  They are then coated with colour and refired.  This second firing shrinks the colour coating away from the plating, forming the “fissures”.

Dumortierite - Dumortierite, also called “blue denim stone”, is actually an aluminium borate silicate from Brazil.  This is a versatile gemstone – great with jeans or a suit.

Fire-Polished Beads - These beads, imported from the Czech Republic, are machine-faceted, then polished by glazing inside a red-hot oven.  This gives them beautiful, glistening colours with a “softer” look and a smoother feel at a considerably lower price than the machine-polished Austrian crystal.  Slight imperfections are to be expected and add to the allure of these much-sought-after beads.

Glass Pearls - Of all the types of imitation pearls, glass-base pearls are the highest quality.  Fantastic lustre!

Gold-Filled - A gold alloy plate where the plating constitutes at least 1/20^th of the weight of the metal in the entire article.  The term must be preceded by the carat (karat) fineness, eg “14K gold-filled”.

Hemalyke™ -  A manmade stone that is a “look alike” for natural hematite but without the latter’s cost.  It is a shiny, almost gunmetal, black, with a sleek, modern look.

Ice Flake Quartz - This results from when crystal quartz is first heated then quickly cooled.  The crystals that don’t explode into dust sometimes develop the beautiful internal fractures reminiscent of ice crystal.  The internal surface reflects light in every direction.

Jet -  Natural jet is solid opaque black.  Great for beading, it’s extremely lightweight for its size, can be intricately carved, and takes a great polish.  This unique material comes from the coal mines of barren northern China.  This gem is valued for its metaphysical properties, since it is one of the few black gems that is totally natural.  Entirely cut, carved and polished by hand, therefore sizes and weights may vary slightly.

Labradorite -  Labradorite is a gemstone of grey-green colour, laced with brilliant eye-catching blue-green flashes.  Discovered in 1770, it is mined mostly in Northeastern Canada in the Labrador peninsula – hence its name.

Lampworked -  A complex and challenging method of making glass beads.  A torch burning either propane or natural gas is used to melt and shape the glass, with either air or pure oxygen used as the oxidiser. 

Mother-of-Pearl -  These iridescent beads and components come from the hard internal layer of the sea mollusc that produces pearls.  Mother-of-pearl enhances the skin tones of both tanned and porcelain complexions, and epitomises feminine loveliness.