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Delicas Beads, Often Inaccurately Labeled Seed Beads, Are Cylindrically Shaped Glass Beads Made By World Famous Miyuki.
Delicas are a specific bead manufactured by world famous Miyuki, Japan's oldest seed bead producer. They are cylindrical in shape with a big hole that allows multiple passes of thread through each bead and are available in a vast array of colors and finishes.
Size 11 is the most in demand size of the Delica beads with 944 varieties of colors, finishes and treatments in the round cylinders in addition to approximately 55 more in the hex cuts, which are hexagon shaped cylinders. The many variations are obtained by particular glass treatments. There is basic transparent glass, basic opaque glass, and etched glass for a matte or semi-matte effect. Then there are the various colored glasses.
Additionally there are many different finishes or treatments. "Treatment" means something that is applied onto the surface of the glass and can be on the top, often within the hole and sometimes one finish on the top and a different finish in the hole. Treatments may include a clear "rainbow" or "aurora borealis" finish, a "pearl" finish, colored dyes, as well as an array of metal coatings including precious metals. Some Delica beads have more than one treatment applied to them in order to produce the desired effect.
Be aware that there could be durability concerns with some of the finishes like the dyed or galvanized beads. The best shops will be able to supply you with the durability information.
Miyuki also makes a size 10 Delica that is somewhat bigger, a size 8 that is a lot bigger than the size 11, and a size 15 that is a lot smaller. The size 10 and 15 are quite new and therefore don't come in as many colors and finishes as the size 11.
The quality of Miyuki's Delica beads is very high and therefore they are more expensive. You should buy them from a reputable bead shop that sells the genuine article. You should be aware that some retailers have been known to obtain less expensive, lower quality beads from another producer and pawn them off as Delicas. Also be very careful if you are tempted to buy at an on-line auction.
If you are purchasing your beads to finish a pattern that gives you the Delica number, for example DB-010, you should have no problem because each color has a number. But if you are getting your beads by description you could have a problem, as there is not a standard color description for each bead. The reason is that the Japanese description does not translate readily into English and the different importers each have their own interpretation. So it's always best to go by the DB- number.
True Delica beads are an excellent choice in any Loom, Peyote or Brick project because they are so uniform. They make any pattern line up perfectly and give a clean, crisp finish to your project. There are fewer culls when you are working and therefore they are more cost effective than their price might indicate. And the color and finish selection is superb!
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