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Wednesday 29 May 2013

Good things come in 3's - Silver Beads

As you've no doubt gathered by now I've not broken my self-imposed bead embargo - this series of beads are all pre-embargo and I'm just catching up with the blog!  I'd been buying a lot of glass beads and it was definitely time to pick up some more silver ones for contrast.

L-R: Lotus, Van Gogh, Chinese Snake

My first bead was preloved and one from my wish lists, I particularly like Lotus when it's on the end of a bracelet facing outwards, it gives a really cute effect.  On the smaller end it almost swallows up the link where it attaches itself to the lock and on the larger end it beautifully tapers the bracelet.




Next was another favourite from my wish lists, Netherlands World Tour Van Gogh silver bead, also preloved and just as gorgeous in real life as it is from the stock photos.  This is quite a chunk of a bead considering it was in price band II, it has some tiny gaps between some of the sunflowers (the flowers themselves are solid silver) and I think this would look great on one of the brightly coloured leather bracelets.

I still have quite a lot of beads left on my wish list from the World Tour Series, but then again I had a lot to start with when they were released briefly in the UK market, ah back then when I had some restraint, I only bought 4 out of the 14 I wanted from that collection! As I have also picked up Runes as part of my Amber bracelet collection I figure I still have another 8 to collect.



Finally I took advantage of a lovely sale from SWAG to pick up Chinese Snake - a bead I saw a non-stock photo of back when it was released last August but I missed out on the chance of it new at a bargain price then, not so this time and I bagged my bead new with a staggering 60% discount!

As you'd expect from a Price IV silver bead, this is quite a large one.  My only criticism of this bead is that as it's heavier on the front facing side I suspect it will have a tendency to slide upside down on a bracelet if it's loose on the chain, I will however keep you posted once I've road tested this one!


Such beautiful detailing all over this bead

I'm really pleased with this set of 3 silver beads, they are all very detailed and quite striking - and they are all longtime wish list beads.  I'm delighted to have finally picked these up, especially at some of the sale prices I was lucky enough to bag, it really can be financially worth waiting for beads that are a bit pricier in a new release.

So what next?  Well there is one more in my mini-series of Good Things come in 3's to publish tomorrow, then my long awaited Troll date with friends on Friday!

2 comments:

  1. Love lotus, but have it among combos, you are quite right, it becomes a 'show-off' at the end, will change. Another brill tip!! Can't afford V.G. sadly. Bought runes last year, LOVE it. x

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for commenting Kay, you've hit the nail on the head there, it IS a "show-off" bead when on the end :)

      My only problem with using it on the end is I'm rather fond of using stoppers both ends of my bracelets but when using Lotus I'm only relying on a safety chain.

      I wouldn't be able to afford to buy this many beads without relying on the preloved market or on the big sales or Trunk Shows (in the US) it's why a lot of my beads are bought in groups as I buy more when the opportunity for fab prices arises, the difficulty with this approach is it's hard to predict what will pop up where so it will be interesting to see how this matches up with my soon to be monthly budget approach. So glad you got Runes, that's a lovely bead, really like it on my Amber bracelet. In fact I'm fond of most of the World Tour series of beads, it was a great series of collections.

      I've loved Snake ever since it's release, I've even bought it before it's Dragon equivalent which is my usual soft spot for animal beads! So so pleased to pick it up at that price!

      Good luck with finding a cheap V.G. - it is a very lovely bead, it looked great in the stock photos but even better in real life and the peek through gaps between the flowers were a lovely bonus as I didn't realise that from the stock photos.

      If the kit is good I'll be doing a rare buy on release day for the Summer Stones release this Friday, but felt the same way about Ruby Rock too, and the Stones are pegged as Special Edition (the new limited edition that can be repeated lol).

      Mars

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