What are Czech beads and where are they used?

Japanese and Czech beads are rightfully considered the most popular in the whole world. Products made in the Czech Republic have a more loyal cost, therefore they do not experience competition. In the article, we will tell you in detail about the varieties of Czech beads, its application, and find out which manufacturers of this type of product can be considered the best.

If the main difference between Japanese and Czech beads lies in the different cost, then the products are distinguished from mass production in China by their truly high quality.

• Products do not lose their shine and color over the years. Jewelry and in half a century will look as if they were just bought.
• Due to the vast assortment, the Czechs have developed a color card, thanks to which it is impossible to make a mistake in choosing a shade.
• The beads of each of the series are perfectly sized. In the sets, all the elements are the same, they do not require the identification and removal of defective beads.
• Wide variety of shapes, sizes and colors always helps to find its buyer, even with the most capricious taste.

It is no coincidence that the Czech Republic received the title of one of the best countries in the world for the production of beads. Love for glass, hard work and daring talent for 800 years have helped Czechs achieve great success in this area. Glasses made of Bohemian glass, crystal chandeliers are considered the height of perfection even today. As for the beads, it was possible to get the perfect beads thanks to fierce competition with Venetian products.

At first, the Czechs came up with the idea of ​​adding potash (wood ash) to glass, which strengthened its properties and made it more pliable to cutting and grinding.Then the craftsmen began not only to produce products from ordinary colored glass, they covered the beads with multi-colored shiny enamel. By the 17th century, the Czechs had bypassed all their competitors.

Czech beads amaze with their variety in shape, all kinds of shades, the presence of shine or a uniform matte surface... To understand this abundance, all Czech manufacturers label their products in five categories and only the company Preciosa - by three. Let's take a closer look at the colors and configuration of the products.

The color card of Czech beads offers millions of shades. The most popular options include green, pink, beige, red, brown, and yellow. Juicy and bright beads in any form go well with white, black, gray colors, metallic with shades of silver or a gold palette. Emerald, lilac, purple, pearl, terracotta products are in demand.

The color is formed and complemented by all kinds of coatings that separate the shades, giving the product the appearance of a patina, which is responsible for translucency or pearlescent shine. Based on the color scheme, the following variants of Czech beads can be distinguished.

• Natural ("Ceramics"). Glass of all kinds of natural shades is used in the absence of any shine. Due to the density of the color, it resembles that of ceramics.

• Natural colored transparent... Natural colors are also used, but the beads are made of a transparent material, the peripheral covering layer is not used, so the products look lighter and more airy.

• Metallic... Electroplating allows to obtain metallic shades, which can appear in the color of silver, gold, bronze, brass, steel, and not only in glossy, but also in matte version.

• Alabaster... It attracts with juicy expressive colors of the glaze coating, the beads seem to be made from exquisite porcelain.

• Rainbow... Beads can be of any shade; a special layer makes it iridescent, creating a feeling of stratification of the color palette.

• Iris... This variety looks irresistible in its iridescent manifestation. Its coloring is similar to the overflow of spots of gasoline spilled in the sun, for this it is called "gasoline".

• Transparent with silver lines and colored center. An original and very effective variety of Czech beads, made of transparent glass covering the inner silver filling. The hole is nicely marked with a color tint.

• Ceylon... Beads in pastel shades have a translucent structure. The inner hole is painted in a rich, vibrant color.

• Striped beads. An original type of product with stripes of different thicknesses and colors. Such beads are easy to use in products that require several shades of binder from the decor.

• With pearl shell... A beautiful color of beads that combines mother-of-pearl, honey and milky shades.

• Colored chalk. Opaque beads have all kinds of rich color palette, without the presence of gloss, mother of pearl and any other manifestation of gloss.

In addition to the color presented in transparent and opaque versions, beads are also divided into two groups - shiny and matte. The first one can contain mother-of-pearl, glaze, and the second has a dense matte coating, giving the product an expensive and stylish look.

The matte version is distinguished by a certain abrasion, the so-called soft noble roughness. A dull grated surface is obtained thanks to the matting technique used in glass processing. Matte beads look very impressive and can have different shades.

• The dark purple tone of round beads with a white core and a red scattered spot resembles black currant fruit.
• The muted shades of the matte product have an expensive presentable look.
• Embroidery beads of a uniform color attract with a beautiful chocolate coating.

Beads coated with enamel and containing a characteristic shine are called porcelain, wax, pearlescent, glossy. It has a wide range of applications - from clothing and jewelry to decor and folk art. Here are the most popular glossy items.

• DROPS... The beautiful glossy material is used to create stylish women's jewelry.
• Alabaster... The enamel, which provides the product with a unique porcelain shine, is endowed with pleasant unusual shades - berry mousse, olive, mustard, dark peach, pink-cream.
• Shiny transparent beads with colored inner line... The color of the transparent glass and the color of the core do not match, and this creates the effect of a double hue. For this product is often called "chameleon".

The shape of the beads is only slightly inferior in the variety of its colors. Many options have their own name. The selection that we present to you includes types of beads of different configurations.

• Round... The most common type of products, reflected in 25 collections. In the size range, it is divided into 15 options, marked in size with numbers - the smaller the beads, the higher the numerical indicator. The top layer is also very diverse: you can find ceramics, melange, mother-of-pearl, metallic, gloss. These include species such as alabaster, rainbow, iris, which we talked about above. Round beads are used to decorate interior details, shoes, clothes.

• Bohemian faceted. The shape of this type of beads resembles barrels marked with edges. Thanks to the faceting, the surface refracts light rays and surprises with its unusual brilliance. This feature is used to create icons, interior paintings, when restoring ancient costumes of historical importance, beads are suitable for decorating bags and other things made of genuine leather.

• Oblong... Belongs to the type of bugle, to its large species. The product has a rectangular shape with a round hole along its entire length. The configuration allows for textured work, so oblong is often used to create women's jewelry. It goes well with other types of beads.

• Farfal... This type of bead has a second name - "butterfly wings", obtained for its peculiar shape, similar to the figure eight. Farfal was first released by Preciosa in 2005.

• Twin... The beads are endowed with an oblong oval shape. It differs from the rest of the names in the presence of two holes. Twin is available in a wide range of different shades. The neon collection is especially popular.

• Solo... The beads are similar in shape to twin beads, only this oval has a single hole made on one of the sides. Craftswomen love to combine solo and twin, since they are similar in appearance, but they are attached in different ways, which in a peculiar way affects the surface of the drawing being made.

• DROPS... Beads resemble tiny droplets by their shape. It has a beautiful glossy surface. The holes are not perfectly centered, but have a subtle offset. DROPS beads are also called decorative, they can be found as a decoration placed on clothes and shoes, it is also used in weaving women's jewelry.

• Bugle... Looks in the form of thin tubes with different types of surfaces - smooth, with twisted (twisted) edges. Length sizes vary greatly. The range of colors is infinitely rich, sometimes the sets are made up in mixed shades. It is used to create jewelry and clothing decor.

• Cabin... The shape of the beads looks as if the long tubes were cut into small pieces - 2-3 mm.Its edges do not have the usual smooth line, but resemble a chopped product. The surface of the beads can be smooth (round) or have edges (cylindrical). There is also a twisted version with a 45-degree cut, which is capable of refracting light to create fantastic highlights. This material is used to decorate evening and concert dresses.

Czech beads have a large selection of sizes, and they are all sorted by numbers. Each number represents the number of beads placed one after the other on a one-inch line.

The classification also takes place according to the diameter of the product, the calculation is carried out in millimeters. All collections are presented in 11 numbers, each of which contains a certain millimeter range, for example, from 1.5 to 4.9 mm.

The most famous Czech manufacturer today is the company Preciosa Ornela. It produces both mixes in assorted sets under different numbers, as well as pure collections of homogeneous products. Jablonex until recently was the largest company in the Czech Republic. A product with this name can still be found in stores today. In fact, Preciosa bought the assets from Jablonex and today the products are represented by a single manufacturer.

Beads look great, their demand does not dry out over time, and today they have a wide range of applications.

• In arts and crafts. Craftswomen embroider icons and pictures from beads.
• In interior design, related to ecological and ethnic styles, all types of country and some oriental directions. Beaded products (flowers, toys, images of animals, trees, panels, portraits) are used as decor.
• This type of product is widely used to create chic women's jewelry - necklaces, bracelets, pendants, pendants, brooches, hair clips, tiaras.
• Beads are used to embroider expensive festive outfits, concert costumes, hats, footwear.

Handmade beads are expensive. Craftswomen buy the product in bags weighing 5, 50 and 500 g. Beads can be purchased complete with fabric, stretcher, pattern and thread.