Delicas Beads, Frequently Mistakenly Named Seed Beads, Are Cylindrically Shaped Glass Beads Made By World Celebrated Miyuki.

Delicas are a particular bead manufactured by world renowned Miyuki, Japan's oldest seed bead manufacturer. They are shaped like a cylinder with a large hole that allows multiple passes of thread through each bead and are available in a vast array of colors and finishes.

Size 11 is the most popular size of the Delica beads with 944 varieties of colors, finishes and treatments in the round cylinders in addition to another 55 in the hex cuts, which are hexagon shaped cylinders. The many variations are obtained by specific glass treatments. There is basic transparent glass, basic opaque glass, and etched glass for a matte or semi-matte effect. Then there are the various colored glasses.

In addition there are many different finishes or treatments. "Treatment" means something that is done on the surface of the glass and can be on the top, occasionally within the hole and sometimes one finish on the top and a different finish in the hole. Treatments can include a clear "rainbow" or "aurora borealis" finish, a "pearl" finish, colored dyes, and an array of metal coatings such as precious metals. Some Delica beads have more than one treatment applied to them in order to result in the desired effect.

Note that there may be durability concerns with a number of the finishes such as the dyed or galvanized beads. The best retailers should be able to supply you with the durability information.

Miyuki also produces a size 10 Delica that is somewhat bigger, a size 8 that is much larger than the size 11, and a size 15 that is a lot smaller. The size 10 and 15 are quite new and therefore don't come in as many colors and finishes as the size 11.

Miyuki's Delica beads are of very high quality and as a result they are more expensive. You should buy them from a reputable bead supplier that sells the authentic article. Be aware that some retailers have been known to purchase cheaper, lower quality beads from another producer and pawn them off as Delicas. Also be very careful if you are tempted to buy at an on-line auction.

If you are purchasing your beads to finish a pattern that gives you the Delica number, such as DB-010, you should have no problem due to the fact that each color has a number. But if you are buying your beads by description you could have a problem, due to the fact that there is not a standard color description for each bead. The reason is that the Japanese description does not translate readily into English and the different importers each have their own interpretation. So it's always best to go by the DB- number.

True Delica beads are a superb choice in any Loom, Peyote or Brick project due to the fact that they are so uniform. They make any pattern line up perfectly and give a clean, crisp finish to your beadwork. There are fewer culls when you are working and therefore they are more cost effective than their price might indicate. And the color and finish selection is fantastic!

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