A lot of it has to do with the fact that the beads are boro, but it also has to do with the protrusions. If wings, dots, flowers, etch aren't melted in enough, they may break off, even if annealed - no matter what kind of glass it is. Protrusions which have undercuts are more likely to break off. An undercut is when the base of the bump, wing, etc. (the part that sticks to the main body) is thinner than the rest of the bump, wing, etc. Any thin, delicate protrusion on a bead is more likely to break than if the bead were just a regular shape. Of course, that all varies with the artist's techniques and designs. Basically, if you can grab the bump with your fingernails it may not be melted in enough. When I first began making beads with applied flowers on them, I had a few break off. Same with bumps and such. Breakage happens, but the artist can do things to make it happen less often. :)
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20 years ago