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The diameter of the rod is about 6 - 8 mm and this is already included in the price. The stick is approx. 35 cm long.
We are still amazed at how many attempts and incredible ideas and the need to create must have prevented people thousands of years ago to create such glass.
We make our beads at home, in our living room, when we have the time and inclination - from Czech glass made from these so-called lamp sticks - melted over the fire of a gas lamp at about 800 degrees Celsius.
You can purchase the sticks on offer for your own creation. However, I have preferably added them here so that you have a swatch in case you want to order custom made glass beads, winding beads from me. Monochrome and variegated, with polka dots, stripes, different shapes. Everything is by appointment. However, this is a handmade job, which, including the time of arrangement with the customer, takes a lot of time. So if the customer expects crown items for an original creation backed by years of experience, equipment and exclusive stock, he will be disappointed. But the opposite is true - the more pieces, the better the price!
Information for sure: we pack the sticks before shipping with the utmost care, but we do not charge you any packing fees or any amount for special packaging. If you require them, please email us and we will purchase the extra packaging.
If the stick happens to crack in transit, then simply weld it back together over the fire. So until it arrives by the ordered transport broken into pieces (which would be a claim against the carrier), we can't do anything about any breakage. Thank you for your understanding, we are really only writing this paragraph in case of any misunderstandings with newcomers to glass fusing, experienced people can handle it and understand that it is a common feature of glass and sticks :)
Tradition of glass in Bohemia
We know about glassworks in Bohemia as early as the 12th and 13th centuries, when so-called forest glass was produced in forest glassworks. From the 14th century onwards, glassworks in Posumaví distributed huge quantities of beads called pateříky - simple glass beads suitable for making rosaries - named after the first words of the Pater Noster prayer.
In Europe, we have information about such beads made by the Celts 300 BC.
In our territory they are found throughout the whole of ancient and medieval history. In the High Middle Ages and the New Age, Bohemian glass became a sought-after commodity and whole carts full of glass components left our glassworks.
Glass melting and the production of beads was popular in the early Middle Ages and these jewels of various sizes and colours were decorated by Slavs (Great Moravia), in ancient Rome, Vikings and Celts to a degree commensurate with their status and wealth. Such glass was often imported from Italy and not everyone could adorn themselves with whole strings of glass jewellery.
Probably the earliest indications of what we now call a bead, a thing that can be strung on a thread and has a primarily decorative function, date back 38,000 years and were strung animal teeth. In the days when man did not yet know how to use tools, he made do with stringing various porous materials, seeds, claws, teeth, bones, sea coral and sponges, stones, clay, wood, eggshells, amber and shells.
As early as 5000 years ago, the first artisans in what is now India began making polished drilled beads from the soft mineral talc. Beads made from precious stones such as jasper, agate and my favourite, carnelian, were then of great value. (This also features prominently among the beads of the Vikings!)
The first beads that were made from man-made material and reshaped into bead shapes, thus promoting the possibility of mass production and making the product cheaper, was a material called faience. Known only, for example, from Egyptian pottery. This porous material made of siliceous sand, limestone and admixtures of various oxides is considered to be a precursor of glass.
The complexity of working real stone was replaced by the properties, hardness, colour and lustre of glass beads. Their origins date back to the Caucasus and India from 2400 to 1700 BC. They quickly became a much sought-after commodity and a major export item for which everything, including gold, could be exchanged. However, the drawn ones, known as coiled ones, do not appear until 300-200 BC.
So how is such glass made? Let's briefly brush up on your school knowledge. The silica contained in silica sand melts at a temperature of around 2000 degrees Celsius. The higher the melting point of the glass, the more expensive the product is, as much more fuel is needed to produce it. However, this can be circumvented by the addition of potash and soda and the glass can be melted as low as around 1000 °C. Then, by combining different oxides, iridescent colours are produced. But each smelter guards the secrets of its shades like an eye in the head.
We are still amazed at how many experiments and crazy ideas and the need to create must have prevented people thousands of years ago from creating such glass.
Our tip: glass beads are a typical element for a girl's costume. Whether it's a lunette, Thor's hammer or another amulet, they add a more historical touch to your pendant.
By the way - by arrangement I can make different coloured beads and replica beads, or organize small classes for the public, for children and adults.
