Click picture to see entire image:

Cost per bead:

17.2 cents

Bead material:

Glass

Country of origin:

Czech Republic

Size/shape:

10mm (from hole to hole) x 12mm (wide) "three-petal" deep flowers with the hole through the middle.  They are called 3-petal flowers because the outer rim of the flower has 3 raised, rounded areas.  There are also 2 grooves on the outside of each "petal".

Colors/description:

Glass beads, probably clear, with a synthetic opaque dark purple satiny coating.  I don't know how durable the coating is.

Hole size:

1mm (estimated).

Defects:

While handling the beads, I noticed several that had chipped before the coating was applied.  I eliminate such beads when I notice them, but I don't always notice them.  If you receive chipped beads, please contact me for a partial refund.  Also, as is always the case, there is some roughness in the center of the flower, in the depression around the hole.

How photographed:

At the window in natural daylight.

Comments:

Czech synthetic coatings are getting more and more sophisticated.  They used to feel like plastic to the fingers, but now they are hard and feel like glass.  However, as I said above, I have no idea how durable the coatings are.  It's possible that the coatings may help protect the glass from chipping.

To give you a better idea of the shape of the beads, here is the supplier's picture: 

You'll notice that the supplier's picture is more colorful than mine.  The color in my picture is more accurate.  However, in my picture the beads are pushed up against each other, which makes them look darker.  Another thing about my picture is that the beads looked too blue right out of the camera, so I shifted the color to make it look more purple.  Whether I got exactly the right shade of purple, I'm not sure.

In short, these beads are not as nice and colorful as the supplier's picture made them look, but they are still an interesting color, if perhaps a little dark and moody.

About the price:  The supplier's price for large 3-petal beads is going up.  Clearly they are desirable beads, since they usually sell out quickly.  To keep the per-lot price down, I really should sell them in lots of 20.  But they come on strands of 25 beads, and it is just too easy to pull 25 off a strand instead of counting out lots of 20.