Click picture to see entire image:

Cost per bead:

13.6 cents

Bead material:

Glass

Country of origin:

Czech Republic

Size/shape:

11mm teardrops with 3 facets or "windows".  The hole runs through the length.

Colors/description:

Translucent dark aqua with a brownish-silver coating on the non-faceted areas of the beads.

Hole size:

1mm (estimated).

Defects:

These beads are fire-polished, which means that many of the facets are imperfect.  Some facets are not smooth, but instead have a mottled texture.  To read about the fire-polishing process, click here.

How photographed:

At the window in natural daylight.

Comments:

The brownish-silver picasso coating on these beads is very interesting.  I just wish the facets were more perfect.  Some facets look textured, as if they were matte instead of smooth.

The supplier sold these to me as 12mm beads, but I discovered after selling the first lot that they are really 11mm.  Because of their slender shape, they seem smaller than the size suggests.