Beads for jewelry making are used from natural materials such as agate or artificial materials such as imitation acrylic. In agate, you get natural pieces or those that have been dyed. There are tree agate, crackle agate, fire agate, dragon veins agate and striped agate varieties. There is an electroplated variety too. Another treatment that the stones can be put through is to be dyed and then heated. A frosted appearance is also available. You can get strands of about 15 inches and more with a package being made up of a number of strands.
The size of the beads can reach up to 40 millimeters. A natural Morocco stone is available in the 40 millimeter size and requires only ten beads to make a strand of 15 inches. Two of these strands cost about $22. There are few stones though in this largest of sizes while In the 30 to 39 millimeters range, we get about 40 models, most of them shaped as drops. There is a nugget shape in this size range which requires about 6 pieces to make a strand. Of course, all the standard shapes that are there among the beads for jewelry making are also available in this size range.
Imitation Acrylic beads for jewelry making have varieties such as ABS, jelly bumpy acrylic, imitation gemstone and imitation pearl. The shapes that are available include that of a nugger and a spinning top while colors include the full range and bright colors such as fuchsia and subdued colors such turquoise and lilac. To check out an example, a turquoise-colored piece in round shape with a size of 14 millimeters is available in a package of 200 pieces for about $26. Among the nearly 300 models, faceted pieces are about 15. The hole type is ‘drilled’ in almost all of the designs.
Checking out the two designs in the largest size range, we first see rice-shaped ones that are 55 millimeters in length. These white pieces can be bought in packages of 10 pieces. In the second-largest size category of 30 to 39 millimeters, we get drop-shaped beads of 36 millimeters in size, also available in packages of 10. Among the animal shapes, you can select from an elephant in champagne yellow or shells in mixed color. Among plants, you can pick from rose flower, leaves, petals and apples.