Milifiore Beads

Milifiore Charm Bracelet, originally uploaded by B.B. Bellezza.

Or is it Millefiori? I can't seem to figure out which is correct....

Millefiori is a glass technique that creates designs on glass. It is the combination of the Italian words "Mille" for thousand and "Fiori" for flowers.

The millefiori technique involves the production of glass canes or rods with multicolored patterns which are viewable only from the cut ends of the cane. Millefiori beads are made of plain wound glass bead cores. Thin slices of cut cane are pressed into the bead surface, forming mosaic-like patterns, while the glass is still hot. Millefiori beads can be decorated sparingly with a small number of of the canes or they can be covered entirely, either by the same style of cane, or by a combination of two or more styles, applied to form a flush, smooth surface, or left protruding from the bead.

How they are made:

Each Millefiori item is individually made by hand. Millefiori is a specific type of technique where small cross cut sections of glass, often featuring a pattern or design, used in the creation of a larger glass work. They are formed by bundling and fusing colored glass rods together, then pulling the hot glass to a smaller diameter. These canes of glass are then cut, with each piece bearing the original pattern in miniature. This technique dates back thousands of years.

History:

The creating of mosaic beads, which is what millefiori beads were called until coined millefiori in Webster's Dictionary in 1849, can be traced by to Ancient Rome. The canes were probably made in Italy have been found as far away as 8th century archaeological sites in Ireland.

They are just gorgeous beads and have such pretty designs. I will also be listing a necklace.