Lampwork
Lampworking or “Glass Bead” making has been practiced for over 3,000 years. Ancient art glass beads found in Egypt are thought to date back as far as 1400 B.C. Glass beads have been traded, adorned, prized for their ornamental and collectible value by many cultures, for centuries they have been used for currency and religious rituals the world over. Known to last for hundreds, sometimes thousands of years, there is a remarkable characteristic of glass; it retains color better than almost any other art material. Ancient works of metal and paintings with oil on canvas are far more fragile. For centuries Italian soft glass manufactured in Murano has proven to hold its luster, color and finish without the aid of special storage practices.
Annealing
Annealing is the process of slowly reducing the temperature of the hot glass. The annealing process makes glass beads very strong and durable. Beads that have not been annealed will have "stress" in them, which means that on a molecular level, the glass is unstable, and outside forces (falling on the ground, temperature, pressure, etc.) can cause them to develop cracks, stress fractures, or even break. In order to relieve this stress, the bead is held at a very precise temperature range for specified periods of time in the kiln. A kiln “controller” can be used, which starts the beads out at about 970 degrees and slowly ramps down by 100 degrees per hour until the bead is brought to room temperature.
When a bead is taken out of the kiln it is still warm and on the stainless steel mandrel. After cooling, the bead is removed from the mandrel the holes are cleaned and filed with a diamond file. Now they are then ready to become gorgeous jewelry to bring years of happiness.
