6mm Sapphire Copper-Coated Teardrop Beads [100]

Style:  G1923
 
Beads per lot:  100

Cost per bead:  4.5 cents

Bead material:  Glass

Country of origin:  Czech Republic

Size/shape:  6mm (long) x 4mm (wide) teardrops with the hole running sideways through the narrow end.

Colors/description:  Translucent medium-light sapphire blue with a copper- or bronze-colored coating.
 
Hole size:  1mm (estimated).

Defects:  The beads appear to be in good shape.

How photographed:  At the window in natural daylight.

Comments:  These are highly unusual beads.  Usually metallic beads are completely opaque, but not in this case.  You can see glints of the blue under the coating.  It is a very interesting and beautiful effect.  Sometimes the coating makes the blue look purple.  I am calling the coating "copper" instead of "bronze" because it is slightly reddish, and also because the supplier uses that word.  As to whether there is actual copper in the coating, I don't know.

The supplier's name for these beads is rather convoluted and has the word "silver" in it (as well as "copper").  If there is any silver in these beads, I can't see it.  Also, the supplier uses the word "cobalt", but the inner blue doesn't look nearly as dark to me as cobalt is.
 
Date first posted:  March 14, 2011
 
Supplier:  E
 
Caleb's notes: