What happened to this bead??

[Lorraine Chandler]

Hi everyone, I bought this bead almost three years ago when I knew nothing about lampwork..I just thought it was pretty.

It has been in a jewelry box ever since ...waiting for me to make it into a necklace. I took it out today and The pretty blue and copper is disappearing!!!

What is up with that?? I would really like to know. I do not want to have beads change later on when I make them...I didn't know glass could change this way. I thought once it is fired the encased glass would stay that way, forever. Can someone tell me what happened or what they think happened?
As you can see the shiny stuff is disappearing from the 'trails"....The chalky blue area used to be complete shiny. There is a clear encasing over the whole bead.

I do not even know if is Boro, Moretti or?? Thanks
Lorraine

[Kikki]

It looks like Effetre ivory with silver foil and trails of trans amber and aqua. I'm as baffled as you are as to why it's changing! I too thought that it would stay the same after it was finished and especially so if it was encased!

[KEW]

I know you say it's encased, but I can't see the encasing so it must be really thin. Any chance it's tarnishing? Or patinating? It's fascinating, whatever it is, though I can see where you might be disappointed.

There's a risk that it will be totally ruined, but have you tried polishing it?

Is there any chance that with your increased experience, you remember it as shinier than it ever was? I have some beads that I bought years ago, and with my increased knowledge, I wonder what I was thinking when I bought them.

[DarleenMB]

I'd bet that it's simply tarnished. I've made a lot of lentils with partially encased silver foil on them and I always tell my customers to treat them as they would any silver piece because ... the silver will tarnish.

I'd just give it a buff with a sunshine cloth and see if that helps. If it does you'll know to keep it in a silver keeper box or at least in a plastic bag with a bit of anti-tarnish paper in it.

[Lorraine Chandler]

Hi Kikki, I got out my husbands loupe and the base is whiteinside the hole but it looks like an ivory over it and then silver foil because along both ends under the loupe are tons of little silver dots and the rest looks like raky and then there is the blue and copper.

Kew, I cannot see any clear over the beige parts but it is over the blue and copper areas.

Even though I was uninformed about lampwork glass when I bought the bead I am an art major and very well trained in art, design, lines, proportions balance etc. so the answer to your question is No...it was a very well made bead and all of the turq blue and copper was where it should have been. LOL

so now I think I will try over on wetcanvas and see if anyone there has any ideas..
Thanks guys for responding
Lorraine

[squid]

that is very weird. I would think if it was tarnishing that it would be turning darker though, not just disappearing.

[WeeMary]

It looks like the silver under the trans colours is disappearing? Silver does react with the sulphur in ivory glass, but I hadn't thought it would continue to react once the bead was cooled. Very odd!