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| Frequently Asked Questions |
| We've tried to put together a list of common questions that we've received regarding Venetian beads and the answers that go along with them. If you have a question that's not answered here, please give us a call or send us an email. We'd be happy to answer it for you. |
| How can you tell if it is an imitation Venetian bead? Venetian beads are made on a copper wire and then dipped in nitric acid to dissolve the copper out from the center of the bead. They are the only bead makers in the world to use this centuries old technique. Imitation Venetian beads are made (in places like China and India) on a reusable steel mandrel coated with a releasing agent. When the beads are cool, they are simply slid off the mandrel. This process leaves the interior of the bead's hole coated with the white residue of the releasing agent. If a bead has white powder in its hole, it's not from Venice. Another telltale sign that beads are not true Venetian is that the Italians never string their beads. We get them shipped to us and they arrive in well packed bags of individual beads. In fact, sometimes they are still a bit wet from their rinse after the acid bath. |
| How can you tell the difference between white gold and pure silver? Both metals obviously have a "silver" color to them. However pure silver brightens the color of the glass whereas white gold has a matted silver look to it. Silver will also tarnish if exposed to the air or nitric acid whereas white gold will not. Sometimes in the manufacturing process, the foil will come in contact with the acid during the bath to dissolve the copper wire. In pure silver beads, this may cause the area around the hole to darken. |
| Why don't you publish your wholesale prices? Bella Venetian Beads is protecting the integrity of our wholesale customers by only providing that information to qualified businesses or individuals. |
| Will you be carrying pendants, gift items and other pertinent supplies on your web site? Yes, we anticipate adding these items very shortly. |
| Why do Venetian beads seem to vary slightly from bead to bead? Each bead is individually handmade and although each bead maker is highly skilled, beads may have slight variations. It is one of the things that make Venetian beads so popular - knowing that each one was individually handcrafted and in many cases (just like snowflakes) no two are exactly alike. |
| Why are some Venetian bead shapes more uniform than others? Some Venetian beads are made using a hand-tool that creates the shapes, which then gives the bead a precise size and shape each time. However, other Venetian beads are created "free-form", or without the aid of a press. These beads rely on the expertise of the bead maker to obtain their shape. |
| Why don't the pictures from your web page print very well? In order for our web page to load more quickly (giving you faster response time), we've reduced the size of the pictures. The resolution of our pictures is high enough to be easily seen online, but not high enough to print out a quality picture. If you would like a higher quality picture to print, please email us with the bead's item number and we'd be happy to send you a larger picture file suitable for printing. |
| Why do all of your pictures have a dime in them? Including an object that everyone is familiar with (like a dime) gives a sense of proportion to each picture. Some of the beads are both small and intricate and displaying them life size does not show their detail. If the pictures are larger than life size, the dime lets you know how big the beads really are. |
| What does your Product Code mean? We've tried to put our Product Codes together in an easy to understand fashion. Each code can consist of up to 5 parts. The first part represents the "category" like "Foil". The second section identifies the "Foil Type" in the bead. The options are "O" for "Oro" which is yellow gold, "P" for "Platino" which is white gold, "M" for multiple foils or "S" for "Pure Silver". The third section identifies the shape (TR for triangle for example). The fourth section is for the size (usually a number in millimeters) and the last section is the color. |
| For example: 21-O-RT-20-LM - "21" is category foil, "O" means yellow gold, "RT" means rectangle, "20" means 20mm long and "LM" means lime color. |
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