Beads have long been used for original clothing decor, in embroidery and jewelry. Today, its main producers are Japan, Taiwan, the Czech Republic, Turkey and China. Japanese beads are considered the highest quality, but they are also the most expensive.
Products of Turkish, Taiwanese and Chinese manufacturers, on the contrary, are affordable, but in terms of quality they cannot withstand competition. But Czech beads occupies a middle ground in this list. It has many advantages that are worth exploring if you have just recently discovered the amazing world of colorful beads.
A bit of history
In the Czech Republic, they began to produce beads in the distant XVII century. By that time, the products of the Bohemian glassmakers exceeded those of their Venetian competitors. Faceted Czech beads coated with colored enamel exceeded Italian round counterparts in beauty and play of light.
The heyday of its production falls on the beginning of the XIX century. It was then that a rich color palette appeared, a huge variety of sizes and shapes. A similar trend has persisted today. Thanks to this, Czech beads are exported to more than 100 countries.
The largest producer of Preciosa Ornela
In the Czech Republic, there are several companies that produce products demanded by needlewomen. Perhaps the most famous among them is Preciosa Ornela. It was founded in 1915 and today produces more than 425 thousand products. Of course, a special place in the assortment of the company is occupied by goods for jewelry.
Classic Preciosa Beads
The Czech Republic, as already noted, “triumphed” over Venice due to the variety of shapes and colors produced by it beads. Preciosa Ornela remains true to the traditions of the Bohemian craftsmen of the past. The range of its products includes more than 100 types of beads.
It is customary to divide by form, brilliance, transparency and other criteria. The most popular is the classic round beads. The palette of its colors and shades is designed to satisfy even the most whimsical craftswomen.
What is the feature
Three distinctive features of Preciosa beads (Czech Republic) can be distinguished: size, shape and coating.
- According to the reviews of needlewomen, the products of this company are distinguished by a good calibration, the reject rate does not exceed 8% per package. The diameter of the beads determines their size, which corresponds to a certain number (from 5 to 15). It should be borne in mind that the larger the serial number, the smaller the beads. Most often, in embroidery and when creating jewelry use number 10.
- In addition to the classic round shape, cubic, triangular, faceted, cylindrical, drop-shaped and other beads are produced.
- Resistant coating allows the color to remain unchanged for many decades. This serves as a guarantee of the durability of both embroidery and jewelry made from Czech beads.
Shine and its absence
The color of beads from the Czech Republic depends on the coating. As a rule, the following types of it are produced:
- matte beads;
- metallic;
- opaque;
- transparent.
Matte beads are characterized by a lack of shine. It can be rainbow or with a thin silver line. Metallic beads, on the contrary, shine thanks to the electroplated coating. It is used where it is necessary to create a gilding effect.
Opaque beads are coated in such a way that the following variations are obtained:
- brilliant;
- rainbow;
- "ceramic";
- "Alabaster" and so on.
In turn, transparent beads are divided into:
- rainbow;
- natural;
- rainbow with a silver line.
- "Chameleon" with a two-color inner line;
- "Chandeliers" with one color, etc.
Which to choose
Preciosa beads (Czech Republic) is of the first and second grade. Experienced craftswomen talk about this. If the quality of the first grade, regardless of the batch, is fully consistent with the color, shade and size declared in the catalog, then the beads of the second grade for these indicators are slightly different. How to determine what products are in front of you on the counter?
The second grade is clearly indicated by the “wave” on the factory packaging. In addition, on it you will not find the original label with a barcode, size and shade number. However, packages are also found without a “wave,” however, the inscriptions on them easily disappear from mild friction.
Although the beads of the second grade are also calibrated, however, its size, as well as the color, can exceed the permissible deviations in the catalog. Therefore, the next time you purchase a package with the same catalog number, the shade in it may vary. Perhaps this will be only a plus for embroidering a picture, as it will give your product an additional tone. But to create jewelry, second-class products may not be suitable.
Map of the colors of beads from the Czech Republic
As already noted, the products of Czech masters are distinguished by an unusually rich palette. So that customers can quickly navigate in all the variety of shades, manufacturers have specially developed a color map, where each shade corresponds to a specific five-digit code. There is also a three-digit marking. It was developed by the company "Airborne Forces" (Ukraine) - an official representative of Preciosa.
What is useful for such a catalog of colors? To the needlewoman, he gives the opportunity, firstly, to acquire the necessary beads in shape, color and size, even from another batch. Secondly, to independently select a palette that will most harmoniously correspond to the intended project. And there really is plenty to choose from, because the color map includes all types of Czech beads mentioned above.
Assessment of the craftswomen
If to summarize all the reviews left on the Internet, the vast majority of needlewomen are satisfied with the quality and a huge palette of shades of beads from the Czech Republic.
However, among the general praise there are also negative opinions. For example, some craftswomen encountered the following problems:
- burnout of beads in the sun;
- unstable coating, which is why after washing the color loses its brightness;
- different types of beads may vary in size;
- when painting the needle and thread, the inner painting peels off;
- the weight of the beads does not match the one stated on the package;
- poor calibration.
Regarding the last paragraph, we can assume that, perhaps, we are talking about beads of the second grade, as described above. Not all craftswomen, and especially beginners, know about this nuance.
There are also sometimes obvious fakes. Such packages look almost identical to Czech beads of 50 grams, only Pricesa is written on them instead of Preciosa. You should also pay attention to this.
The price of Czech beads is also attributed to many of its minuses, because in comparison with the cost of Chinese counterparts, it really may seem a bit high. Nevertheless, the work performed using the original Preciosa products looks much more elegant and brighter. In any case, each craftswoman, after weighing all the pros and cons, decides for herself what kind of beads to give preference to.