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Crystal Gazing
Observing techniques of crystal faceting

Faceted Crystal Beads

Even though the crystal-making workshops the group saw were small operations in small villages, some used quite sophisticated machinery. The workers were very proud of the recent innovations and improvements they made in the equipment and processes used to produce glass beads, crystal ornaments and porcelain beads. In most cases our staffers were allowed to see and photograph the complete process. Yet in some shops they were asked not to share the pictures and techniques with the general public. Even though their equipment was based on common lapidary practice, they felt they had secret improvements that gave them an advantage over other workshops in China and, more importantly, over beadmakers in other developing countries. We have respected their wishes and are only show a few pictures here from those workshops. In a few years, though, we might publish more details about this "facet" of the trip!
In one village, the group visited with families who facet glass beads similar to the Cosmic Crystal™ hand-polished beads we sell. The machines these families use differ from the ones our staffers saw last year in another part of China, but the process is similar:

A glass factory produces meter-long rods of glass in various colors, all with a hole in the center. The rods may vary depending on the size of bead produced. The rods are trucked to the beadmaking factory or workshop. The rods are turned into beads by being pressed against a rotating abrasive impregnated drum that cuts the rod into 10-20 round or oval beads. The number and shape depend on the number of cupped divisions in the drum. The drum shown above is an example of the diamond impregnated drums made in Taiwan for the glass industry.

The exact process used to facet and polish the bead depends on the particular machine and the type of grinding/polishing surface on the disc. Basically, the machine has a rotating disc and an arm to hold the bead. The bead is rotated through 16 positions to make the central band of facets. The arm is adjusted for other bands. The bead is flipped end-to-end to facet the other side. If the beads are only faceted to give them shape, they will be tumble-polished to give them a shiny surface. This is the standard or B-grade Chinese crystal similar to Czech firepolish. If each bead is faceted on one part of the spinning disc then moved to a diamond disc, it produces a high polish with sharp edges and a lot of sparkle. This produces the "cosmic" or A grade we carry. Looking at hundreds or thousands of strands of Chinese crystal beads at our trunk shows, it is truly incredible to understand that every single bead is cut and polished one-by-one, by hand. It gave everyone on the trip a greater appreciation for the workmanship and quality that goes into these inexpensive beads.

The women stringing the finished beads (left) enjoyed a good laugh as they try on one of the glass bracelets Dee was wearing.

The workshop manager (right) displays some finished faceted crystal beads.

     

Faceted Crystal Balls

One workshop our staffers visited turned out very nice lead crystal balls the same shape and cut as Swarovski's 8550. They begin as roughly molded glass balls. Our group didn't see the casting of the unpolished ball, which is done in a glass factory in another area. The hole in the crystal does not go through the top of the ball in the raw piece. After the ball is faceted and polished, the hole is drilled. This is done one by one before the ball gets the final inspection for quality.
A row of 10 balls is carefully mounted in a carrier with dop wax. The carrier holds the balls while the operator forces it against the grinding surface, which both cuts and polishes the ball. The balls are rotated in the carrier or the carrier itself is shifted to do the next facet. When one half of the ball is done, the carrier is removed from the faceting machine and the next carrier inserted.
The half-finished balls are swapped to a new carrier and glued in place upside down for the second half of the faceting. Balls that do not meet quality inspection are either repolished by hand or scrapped, in which case the glass is sold back to the glass factory.

This workshop could produce 3000 finished and acceptable balls each day.

Molded Glass Bead-making | Freshwater Pearls
Crystal Bead-faceting | Gemstone Bead Factories
There's always another bead...

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