Things to look out for when buying art glass or lampwork beads

* Kiln annealed

This is a must for beads that won't suddenly break on you. Indian and Asian lampwork beads, as far as general consensus, have not been annealed.

A popular ebay search is - lampwork annealed - or click here to customise your search to include ticking the description box which will give you more results - advanced search

- to cull the cheaply produced imports from the artisans!

* Sharp Bead Holes

Pointy edges of the bead can cut the thread you use, even tigertail. Look for smooth flat edges. Otherwise, stick to wire-wrapping, although artists strive for good clean edges this takes experience and good craftmanship - it IS a sign of a well-made bead. You can sometimes pick these in pictures - the ends will come to a point, or look rough. Some lentil beads will have an indentation in the ends as a result of the press and if badly done, will cut your thread, even tigertail!

* Sculptural know-how

Stacked dots (bumps) - Warring States (I can't make the link show title & description - create your own search by ticking the description box!)
Watch out for undercuts - where the dot is not attached securely to the base of the bead, making it easier to knock off. They look a little top heavy, or as if the dot has a neck. You can also keep an eye out for how lopsided the dots are... tho this might not bother you!

In context, sculptural beads need to be firmly based so bits such as appendages or wings or eyeballs on stalks (eg) don't easily knock off - common sense in light of the objects being glass will be obvious which pieces could be too fragile to use in jewelry.

* Chill marks

These are caused by thermal shock from the bead being marvered or pressed into a mold. You can tell this by looking closely you will see little tiny rings on the bead surface. This is different to frits (crushed glass) which cause texture and will be part of the design and more consistent. There is some controversy about chill marks as they indicate the bead has not been brought up to an even heat before placing in the kiln, thus causing greater internal stress on the glass. Some people use them as part of the design!

* Bubbles

Some love them and see them as adding charm; tho generally speaking with a clear coating on the bead (known as encasing ) artistic perfection is to achieve flawless encasing - few if any bubbles.

(* Please note, above encasing link will show you some mass produced beads - can you spot them? Create your own search by clicking advanced search at top right and ticking title & description with the word annealed included!)

Lots of bubbles could weaken the structural integrity of the bead, if they are too close to the surface.  Flawless encasing as well as even encasing takes skill and patience from the artisan and the less bubbles reveals good workmanship (again, some believe bubbles add to charm!)

Of course, intentional bubbles - like in plunged dots or flowers or a part of the design - are placed deeper within the bead and can look pretty awesome!

* Glass used

can be a good indicator of artisan beads - quality glass includes Italian art glass (moretti/effetre, Vetrofond), German (Lauscha), American (Bullseye or spectrum), NZ (gaffer), Czech glass to name a few. Hard glass - Borosilicate - is also artisan glass!

Now there's also designer glass including Double Helix, R4, Creation is Messy (CIM), ASK, to name a few.

* Tags / Labels

You will also see tags in listings, such as SRA - Self-Representing Artist, or Member of ISGB, or WC! or LE (member of glass online forums) - which adds to credibility of the seller, though lack of any title does not mean the artist is not representing themselves.

Check their feedback! Check out their ABOUT ME page!

If in doubt, then question the seller carefully for precise answers as to where the beads are made and by whom, what glass was used, are they kiln annealed?

Please note:

there are many imports now that look just like artisan lampwork beads. I get emails regularly from China offering to make beads I have designed. You will find a very few sellers listing beads as designed by them, failing to mention they did not make them! I have also seen Indian lampwork beads listed as kiln annealed, and they are not, unless the sellers have annealed them themselves.

Kudos to the sellers who list in the appropriate section and state their beads were made elsewhere!

It does take some knowledge of what is out there to recognise the imports, especially as some of the encased flowers now are just gorgeous... so look closely! It pays to check the seller out... there are very few shoddy ones, but they are there. Mass number of listings & CHEAP price is often a good indicator. I feel very sorry for the underpaid workers who produce these beads in unsafe conditions!

These mass produced beads are rarely cleaned, flaking white powder when strung which can be a hazard to breathe. Artisans take pride in cleaning their bead holes, sanding any edge that might be sharp and kiln annealing their beads.

Enjoy the eye candy on Ebay, it is an incredible source of amazing, unique work produced by talented artisans who strive to produce their best... as well as the -wham bam thankyou mam pump 'em out- artists... you will see everything from the bizarre to original to classic to electroformed to set in silver to spacers to... you name it....... it's there!