I first saw these intriguing little components in Edwin Batres’s and Aurelio Castano’s work. It was years ago, and they got stuck in my mind. I couldn’t wait to play with them, too. I received crystal and silver samples before the Beadingschool Advent Adventure last year. I’m sure you know the feeling: it was the highest time to have more colors, finally!
One of my favorite colors is Fuchsia. This deep, energetic pink looks awesome combined with gold and bronze. This is exactly what I selected for the passionate March-April Theme of the Beadingschool Academy, inspired by sunsets over the ocean in Sayulita, Mexico.
Sayulita is a village on the Pacific coast of Mexico, and I visited my close friend Alina there last year.
WHAT ARE PRECIOSA RONDELLES?
They belong to the family of ‘Multi-stone settings,’ together with tube, ball, and square-shaped components. A rondelle is a flat metal bead with multiple crystal inserts along the outer edge.
FUN FACT: In the case of the 4.5 mm rondelles that we are currently playing with, you will find six tiny but super sparkly stones all around! The hole is a bit bigger than with average glass beads of the same size, and the top and bottom are bowl-shaped.
This means that if you pick up a sequence of bicone + rondelle + bicone, the bicone beads will partially sink into the rondelle.
This creates a special look and a bit of a challenge (as it becomes hard or even impossible to bead only through the bicones again), but it also creates a great opportunity: the structure together becomes super sturdy! That’s how I created the new ALMA motif during the most recent #CoffeeTimeWithErika LIVE DESIGN session 🙂
ALMA MOTIF
This is the result of the Live Design session! I love how it came together: while experimenting on my bead mat, Terry, Anna, Anzelika, and many fellow beaders were sharing their ideas and feedback. So, it is the result of community creation 🙂
I draw the instructions for this cutie and we can bead it together during #NoOneHasToBeadAlone on the 18th of April.
In the meantime, we updated the BEADINGSCHOOL EVENT CALENDAR where you can check what’s happening! Tomorrow a Lunch Break Zoom Room is coming for our Beadingschool Academy Students, hosted by Zuzi!
The rondelles in our Bead Shop are made in the Czech Republic in the European Union by one of the biggest names in bead-making: the Preciosa Crystal Factory. That’s already proof of super high quality, but I would like to tell you more!
In the European Union, we have really strict laws specifying what kind of material can come in contact with the skin (the same goes for the food industry, jewelry, pharmacies, electronics, products for children, basically everything).
The goal of these laws is, of course, to protect us, and that’s why I am always happy when I can shop ‘at home’ in manufactories in the European Union.
While it’s easier to find resistant gold-colored or patinated components, silver is tricky, as often it loses the plating. There are two different qualities of silver plating available in the assortment of Preciosa: a cheaper but less durable one and a higher quality but also higher price-point one. I always choose this second to ensure that after the creativity and time we invest in our jewellery, we can enjoy them for the longest possible time!
MY PERSONAL TIP:
When shopping for Preciosa crystals in metal settings, always ask your Bead Shop about the silver coating: Do they go for cheap or for high quality?
These are 10 different colors available from the 4.5 mm Preciosa smooth round rondelle collection.
Of course, we have them all, in silver and raw colored settings, in Fuchsia Boxes for a better price (separate warm and cold tones), or the best deal: a Fuchsia Box Bundle with a tutorial on top of it as a gift – so you can immediately start beading with them!
THIS IS THE GIFT WITH THE BOX BUNDLE! (very few are left)
The CARMEN pendant by Zuzi brings you a new bezel for 7 mm Preciosa Chaton Rose Maxima. The bezel includes Preciosa rondelles, too.
Further in the design, the rondelles change into a decorative element in the pendant, adding extra color to match the Superduo beads.
While Erika used part of the Sayulita Sunset fold-over clasp to decorate her Jamaica pendant, Zuzi used the folding part of the clasp as a bail! How cool!
Zuzi said: I love that I could come up with a new kind of bezel. First, I thought about the smaller motif for a bracelet or earrings, but I jumped on a wave of inspiration and didn’t stop.
I dedicate this design to honor a dear friend, my former colleague, an exceptional woman.
She is full of life, joy, and love… and always supported me personally and professionally when I decided to follow the path of my beading journey.
Carmen, thank you!
As I mentioned earlier, one of those novelties during last Advent was the round-shaped Preciosa rondelle bead. The ️Eternal Starshine️ necklace was my first try to see how much we all like it.
I do, and I also loved seeing you beading with them in the Club!
Now, when we finally have all the colors, I had to go back to that first jewel and see what it looks like in a completely different color combination.
FUN FACT:
There are two different types of 4.5 mm round-shaped rondelles made by Preciosa.
The original is called ‘undulated’ and has a wavy edge. The new ones are smooth.
️ Luckily, both can be used for the Eternal Starshine motif, but to make it easy in the future, we will keep only the smooth ones. The Eternal Starshine tutorial is available for now ONLY with the curated box of the same name.
️WHICH ONE DO YOU LIKE MORE?
The original frosty-foresty one or the new Sayulita Sunset variation full of passion and energy?
Next week, we won’t have #CoffeeTimeWithErika, but don’t forget to join #NoOneHasToBeadAlone for the ALMA motif!
HAPPY BEADING,
xxx Erika from Beadingschool
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