琉璃

Designing in Glass

Glass has not surprisingly been surrounded with an air of mysticism ever since it was invented thousands of years ago. There is something magical, even supernatural, about the transparent material that starts out soft and malleable at high temperatures and becomes harder than metal as the temperature falls. And there is undeniably something enigmatic about the finish glass figure that is a massive form yet has a transparency that is almost fluid.

Glassmaking demands precision and timing. When the glass melts, it rolls itself into a ball due to the natural surface tension, which is comparable to the tension that causes a drop of water on a surface to become round. Every colour reacts differently, and the designer can exploit this knowledge to create a variety of designs. Most of the glass used in the Trollbeads collection comes from Italy. It is imported from Murano, an island close to Venice in northern Italy. For centuries, high quality glass has been produced here.

Glass consists of a long list of chemical substances. Silicon dioxide is the major constituent. The silicon dioxide is usually derived from quartz sand while other components such as sodium oxide and calcium oxide are derived from soda and potash. The colour of the glass is also dependent on the substances added to the glass during manufacture. For example, a clear marine blue colour is achieved by adding copper. All Trollbeads glass beads are handmade in front of a red-hot, open flame.

The exquisite craftsmanship of Trollbeads’ jewellery is only truly complete when you match the different components that tell your stories in your own personal way. You can mix your glass beads with components in other materials like gold, gemstones, silver or pearl. Start your story now and build your own bracelet or check out all of our designed pieces.

Trollbeads is the original bead-on-bracelet brand with literally hundreds of beautiful beads to pick and choose from – each a little work of art - so that every bracelet becomes entirely personal. Every piece of jewellery created can be taken apart and its look repeatedly reinvented by using new combinations. We provide beautiful products in nature’s most fantastic and alluring materials designed to be compatible across all types of bracelets, necklaces, rings, and earrings, making them suitable for daily use and for special occasions.

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