Bead Glossary C
Bead Glossary C continues our descriptions of some of our favorite beads. We don't pretend to be all inclusive, just a taste to encourage pursuit of beads you know and some that may newly inspire. Additional references are listed courtesy of knowledgeable artists and
Bead Sellers
who host extraordinary imagery, which is an boon to bead study and inspiring to artists. We recommend reading the bead seller's bead glossary, as they are the most informed about what they present.
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Bead Glossary C
Cabochon
Whether you spell it cabochon or cabachon, they are flat-backed and UNFACETED. Highly polished with a convex (outwardly rounded) surface, gemstone cabochons have been mounted into jewelry settings for millennia.
Rockhounds.com
well describes how slices are cut from the rock rough and polished into smooth and beautiful gems displaying the incredible colors of Earth.
The cabochons above courtesy of
Wire-Scupture.com.
Cabs are set into jewelry mountings and can also be couched onto clothing, soft sculpture art or sewn jewelry using a stitched seed bead or thread bezel. Some cabs, such as the ones below, are top drilled or side drilled for stringing or jump ring pendants. Read the bead seller's description carefully!
Click on the images for large views of gemstone cabochons courtesy of
Exotic India Art.
Cabs can be made of any material, including dichroic glass, polymer or Precious Metal Clay (PMC) or materials such as shell, fossils or coral even acrylic. If the item has a flat back it can be mounted or couched with one of the many cabochon setting techniques. Round and oval gemstone cabs are commonly sold in calibrated millimeter sizes from quite tiny 3mm or 4mm rounds to 40x30mm. Look for free form cabs, which artists present in delightfully unexpected shapes and sizes.
Ceylon
A pearl-like (pearlescent), translucent bead finish usually over light and pastel colored beads. The bead itself can be made of a variety of materials or sizes.
Charlottes
1-cut, 2-cut, 3-cut beads are sometimes mistaken for one another. Cut seed beads begin round then had
1, 2 or 3 runs that gave them angles and the ability to reflect light in a whole new way. The Czech Charlotte bead is a 13/0
1-cut bead, with enormous sparkle. They are often sold in short hanks, and if from antiquity (that is, not from the current era) they can be significantly more expensive than other cut seed beads. 2-cut beads are smaller and look a lot like a tiny bugle beads;
3-cut beads are tiny faceted beads, shiny and reflective. Read the bead seller's Bead Glossary carefully.
Chevrons
Refers to both a bead type and bead appearance.
The 7-layer chevron bead of the Venetian’s African bead trade was layered and carved into a starburst pattern. The
Bead Collector's Network,
which is part
of the
Picard Bead Museum
has a rich on-line gallery and offers scholarly publications describing Chevron bead history.
East of Oz
presents images of antique trade & fancy Venetian beads on their website along with their schedule of bead shows. To see the colorful variety of older Chevrons view the extraordinary display on
African Trade Beads.
Not only a valued bead historically, there are also modern beads made in the Chevron style (now from Africa, India, China) and many other modern bead makers. Bead Artist, Desiree McCrorey, has a wonderfully illustrated tutorial on how to create Chevron beads in polymer clay on her
Desired Creations
website.
Christmas Beads
Striking bright colors of red, blue, green, yellow (more) beads were made in Italy and Spain for African trade at least 100 years ago. Many Christmas beads are newly strung beads (now from) Africa. To view extraordinary images of Christmas beads (and more) click on the picture, courtesy of
Touray Beads.
They have a fabulous, high-resolution online gallery of beads so inspirational it will feed your imagination and have you reaching toward an acquisition, or your polymer clay. This opportunity for bead study is one you might want to peruse with your drawing pad and color pencils nearby.
Cinnabar
Natural cinnabar is heavy reddish mineral consisting of mercuric sulfide, the chief source of mercury. Old cinnabar beads were carved of tree resin tinted with cinnabar. Read and see more resources about (old) cinnabar at the
College of Science & Technology
at Central Michigan University. Some modern cinnabar beads may be coated carved wood, or beads built of many, many layers of the tree resin-based lacquer carved with beautiful designs. Click on the image of the carved lacquer bead, courtesy of
Asia Beads
for an up-close view of a variety of Cinnabar shapes and colors.
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