Murano Glass Beads

Glass beads from Murano, Murano beads and Venetian glass beads are known as lampwork beads. This means the bead maker makes the bead over an open flame. FancyBeads is a direct importer and wholesaler of the highest quality Murano bead jewelry, Murano glass beads, and more. We are strictly a Murano glass bead wholesaler; we do not sell retail. We sell our Murano beads to Bead Stores all over the world. If you don’t own a bead store, we are happy to work with you if you meet the $150 minimum purchase. You will notice that we have the best prices and highest quality of Murano glass beads, but we are only able to offer these prices to Bead Stores (with no minimum purchase), and large jewelry designers (with a $150 minimum purchase).

Glass beads made on the island of Murano, in Venice, or in the surrounding areas are widely considered to be the highest quality glass beads in the world. These beads are made from a centuries old tradition of glass bead making which starts with the Moretti Effetre glass rods and their closely guarded manufacturing process. Different metal oxides are added to the glass to produce different colors. Wrapping 24k gold foil or silver foil around a glass center and then encasing the foil in another layer of glass produces a rich, sparkling color. These beads go by many similar names including Venetian glass bead, Murano bead, Murano pearls, foil beads, and foil glass bead.

By browsing our site you will find that we don’t just offer the Murano bead in one shape. In fact we offer over 35 different size and shape combinations. Including baguette, bicone, cone, cube, cylinder, diamond, disc, fan blade, flat cube, heart, nickel, olive, parentheses, rectangle, rondelle, round, square, star, teardrop, triangle. Then consider that we have 28 different foil and glass color combinations for each shape. Some simple math will show you that we have almost 980 different Venetian glass beads that we stock and wholesale all year round. If you have something you need produced in large quantity that you don’t see on our web site, we’re happy to work with you on this.

If you have ever have the opportunity to travel to Venice we highly recommend doing so. It is a beautiful place with an abundance of history and character. Take a few days to get lost in the winding streets and multitude of shops that Venice has to offer. We encourage you to take tours of the glass factories on the island of Murano; to watch them work is truly impressive. Many Venetian hotels have arrangements with the Murano factories to provide free transportation and tours. You may be surprised to find that Murano glass beads in Venice are several times more expensive than FancyBead prices. In fact Venetian prices are usually much more expensive than even retail shops in America. Venice is a huge tourist destination with high rent, so expect to pay more for everything. Italians are very passionate by nature, and these feelings extend to their shops and factories. Compliments are appreciated. Don’t be afraid to ask for a better price after a brief chat. Also, be careful to note the quality of the Murano beads as they are not all created equal. Look for smooth edges, evenly formed holes, and foil work that fills most of the bead. If you see signs in English you may notice that they adopt a different spelling of jewelry. They actually spell it: jewellery.

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