Unicorne Beads is located in Placentia, California, USA or one hour south of Los Angeles. The company has over 40 years of glassblowing expertise in the jewelry and giftware industry.

With a deep knowledge of glassblowing, the company has focused its attention in making lamp worked borosilicate glass beads for the jewelry beading industry. Innovative designs, unusual shapes and rich colors are the hallmark of Unicorne Beads.

Bead Products

We design, fabricate and produce each lamp worked bead by hand with borosilicate (hard glass) in the United States. The glass used in producing our beads is a special mixture from the Czech Republic, Italian and American glass manufacturers.
Each bead is carefully made and annealed in a kiln at over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. We mix many of our own colors to produce unique and exotic beads. Many of our shapes come from customer suggestions.

Terms

Credit Card or wire transfer only.

Wholesale

Wholesale discounts are available for volume purchases for Jewelry Designers (with proper Tax ID), Bead Stores and Large wholesale accounts. Please contact us at sales@unicornebeads.com for appropriate discounts.

Minimum Order

There is no minimum order level

Shipping

Notification by email is sent with a tracking number when the product is shipped.

• Domestic USA - UPS is preferred. FED-X and USA Priority Mail is also available.
• International - USA Priority Mail is preferred method. Flat $10 dollars USA charge is offered with most orders.

Return Policy

Only authorized returns are allowed and require an RA# (Return Authorization Number). Returns without prior approval will not be accepted. Damaged or altered products will not be accepted. Shipping & rush charges are nonrefundable. Returned items are subject to a 20% restocking fee. Please report and damage within 7 days. Please save damaged boxes for filing a claim with the shipper.

Unicorne Beads - Detailed Product Explanation

Unicorne Beads are individually handcrafted in the USA by our network of highly skilled glassblowers. These beads are fashioned in a torch flame by a process called “lampworking”. Unlike most beads which are made from ordinary or “soft” glass, Unicorne Beads are created from "hard" or borosilicate glass. Only the finest imported glass from Europe and the United States is used. Many of the colored glass is custom mixed. Borosilicate glass is worked at much higher temperatures than ordinary glass and then kiln annealed at over 1000 degrees which makes for a stronger more durable product. The higher temperatures are also responsible for the rich natural colors characteristic of Unicorne borosilicate glass beads.

A word about Dichroic

Originally created for the Aerospace industry, Dichroic chips are incorporated in many of the Unicorne Beads that is offered to the buying public.
The brilliant dichroic optical properties of dichroic glass are the result of multiple micro-layers of metal oxides. These thin layers of oxides have a total thickness of three to five millionths of an inch.
NASA developed dichroic glass for use in face shields in space suits. Multiple ultra-thin layers of different metals (gold, silver, titanium, chromium, aluminium, zirconium, magnesium, silicon) are applied to the surface of the glass. The glass is then kiln fired at extreme temperatures in a vacuum.
The resulting plate of dichroic glass can then be fused with other glass in multiple firings. Certain wavelengths of light will either pass through or be reflected, causing an array of colour to be visible. Due to variations in the firing process, individual results can never be exactly reproduced; each piece of fused dichroic glass is unique and no two pieces are ever the same.
The main characteristic of Dichroic Glass is that it has a transmitted color and a completely different reflective color. Furthermore, these two colors shift depending on angle of view. With the play of light together with its vibrant color, Dichroic Glass is a prime tool used to add interest to any piece of work or project.