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Item no.:

F247

Bead material:

glass

Country of origin:

Czech Republic

Size/shape:

6mm round, faceted

Colors/description:

clear faceted beads with a bright light pink coating; I do not know what the coating is made of, but it feels like glass

Defects:

I found one broken bead in the package.  Besides that, I see no defects.  However, many facets are rough, which is a common defect of fire-polished beads.

Comments:

The supplier says that these beads are coated, but they feel like glass to me.  I assume that the coating is synthetic but heat-sealed (fire-polished) to the bead surface.  I don't know how durable they will be.  I carry other 6mm pink faceted beads which have the color in the glass, but synthetic coatings seem to permit brighter colors than can be accomplished with glass alone (at least, for the Czech manufacturers).

Postscript.  When I finally divided these beads into lots, I found that I was getting little sand-like bits of coating on my fingers, and that has made me wonder how durable they will be.  In my experience, most Czech synthetic coatings are similar to paints or varnishes.  They usually have a little softness to the touch, and that's a good thing because it means that the coating has a little resilience and will resist chipping and scratching.  These beads, however, feel hard like glass, so the coating might be brittle.  If you get these beads and decide that they aren't a good quality, I will refund your money.