Antique Venetian Micro Seed Bead Metallic Copper #1 (20/0)

Antique SVC Venetian Metallic Micro Seed Beads — Copper #1

Genuine Venetian micro seed beads from old Società Veneziana Conterie warehouse stock, in Copper #1. This is a deep, antiqued copper — a dark chocolate-bronze base with warm coppery glints that emerge where light catches the surface. It is not the bright, polished copper of new-plated modern beads; this reads as aged metal, with the burnished, oxidized character of a copper piece that has developed decades of natural patina.

The metallic finish is a surface treatment over glass, and its luster varies subtly bead to bead — some beads flash brighter copper highlights while others sit darker and more subdued. This variation is natural to the production method and gives massed beadwork a rich, textured metal quality rather than a flat, uniform plating. As with all metallic surface finishes, prolonged friction and skin contact can wear the treatment over time; for heirloom work, handle as you would any coated antique bead.

For restoration and traditional beadwork, this colorway pairs the warmth of the brown family with the visual weight of metal at glass-bead scale. It sits naturally alongside antique metal-bead and cut-steel work where a warm tone is called for, serves as a grounding earth-metallic accent against brighter colorways, and matches the aged copper tones frequently found in period beadwork that a bright modern copper would overwhelm. Browse our full SVC metallic and brown inventory to compare against your reference material — this colorway is available in additional sizes.

Sizing note: This lot measured approximately 1.13mm at sampling — consistent with SVC 20/0 production, within our micro seed bead class (16/0 and finer). Antique beads are measured from original stock and sizing is approximate; dimensions may vary between lots. We recommend pre-sorting before count-critical work.

Note: Due to their extremely small size, these micro beads may not be suitable for all beading projects. We recommend using a beading tray and fine beading needle for best results.