Click picture to see entire image:

Cost per bead:

8 cents

Bead material:

Glass

Country of origin:

Czech Republic

Size/shape:

6mm round, faceted.

Colors/description:

A mixture of clear, red and blue glass with a silver AB (aurora borealis) coating on part of each bead.

Hole size:

1mm (estimated).

Defects:

The facets on these beads look a little rougher than usual (fire-polished beads always have some imperfect facets), but that may be due to the silver AB coating, which makes the imperfect facets more apparent.  To read about the fire-polishing process, click here.

How photographed:

At the window in natural daylight.

Comments:

These beads have a very interesting color scheme, but the silver AB coating looks a little cheap to me.  I am calling them "violet" because the blue and red mix together to create a violet effect.

These beads are a perfect example of "premium pricing".  My supplier sells the same beads with a bronze coating at a much lower price.  But since the silver AB coating creates an interesting look, they slapped an extremely high price on the beads.  I reduced my markup a little to keep the price at a reasonable level.