"Lace" Pastel Millefiori Ovals 10x38mm

Large, Murano glass, pastel "lace" millefiori, oval shaped beads, 10x38 mm. Size is approximate and may vary a little, as each bead is completely hand made in Murano, Italy. The colors in each lace bead will vary, as no two are alike.

The pastel "lace" Millefiori, are examples of the finest millefiori beads, referred to as "fine" millefiori. The millefiori bead is made by first melting, or lampworking, Murano glass onto the copper wire. Once the initial bead is formed, the artisan holds the bead in the flame and with tweezers, picks up small pastel "lace" millefiori slices (also called murrinas), previously cut from millefiori canes, (rods), and places them directly onto the heated center bead, covering the bead, leaving very little space between each murrina.

The Murano glass artisan then smooths and polishes the beads by putting them in a tumbler, where they are tumbled many, many times, to accomplish that very smooth finish; obtaining the finest and highest quality beads that are envied by other bead makers. The complete making of these perfectly shiny beads is a secret, like many others of the workshops on the Murano island, and it is jealously guarded in the family tradition.