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Victorian Christmas Lampwork Bead

This is one of the first big cylinder shaped glass beads I ever made, and it took me forever to get it balanced and even. Then I had to go and add stringers which got everything out of whack again, but not too much. I do prefer getting a good shape first, then adding the additional colors.

After applying the silver foil, I worked this bead for at least 20 minutes which produced a little pitting on the surface, but I like that look. I think it adds to the antique look of the bead.

The base of this lampwork bead is Ivory wrapped in silver foil. I then used a Kugler Iris Gold stringer and a Gold Pink (Effetre (Moretti) 591456) stringer to add the color. When I made this bead a few years, the Gold Pink (sometimes called Rubino Gold) rod I used to pull the stringer was very deep and saturated with color. I haven’t shopped for any lately, but I think it may be less saturated these days and may not produce the same results. Both Iris Gold and Gold Pink are striking colors and create interesting effects on top of the silver foil.

Note: The Kugler and Effetre (Moretti) I used have different COEs (coefficient of expansion), but I did not use much Kugler. I think the rule of thumb when using different COEs is that there should be no more than 5% of the other glass. The greenish swirls are Kulger – COE 96, the rest of the bead is Effetre (Moretti) – COE is 104. Kugler now makes some 104 glass.

Details -

• handmade glass beads by Elizabeth Long, aka lizlong
• properly kiln annealed
• bead measurement(s) (width x length)
  • 17mm x 48mm
• mandrel size
  • 1/16″
• glass used
  • Effetre (Moretti)
  • Kugler
• other items used to create this bead
  • silver foil
• one-of-a-kind, artisan lampwork bead