Antique Venetian Micro Seed Bead Transparent Aquamarine #1 (20/0)

Antique SVC Venetian Transparent Micro Seed Beads — Aquamarine #1

Genuine Venetian micro seed beads from old Società Veneziana Conterie warehouse stock, in Transparent Aquamarine #1. This is a light, watery aqua-blue in fully transparent glass — the color of clear shallow water, carrying the cool blue-green tint that gives the aquamarine gemstone its name. Individual beads read as sparkling, lightly tinted points of glass; massed together, the color compounds through overlapping transparent layers into a soft, luminous pool of aqua that deepens toward the center of the beadwork and lightens to glittering clarity at the edges.

This compounding behavior is unique to transparent glass and was used deliberately by period beadworkers — the apparent color intensity shifts with bead density, viewing angle, and light conditions, producing a shimmering, dimensional quality that opaque and greasy beads cannot replicate. As with all transparent production, apparent depth varies slightly with bead wall thickness; the underlying glass chemistry is uniform across the lot.

Color consistency is excellent. An occasional stray bead from an adjacent color lot may be present, consistent with undisturbed warehouse inventory.

For restoration and traditional beadwork, transparent aquamarine served where a cool, light-catching shimmer was needed — a whisper of water-blue that reads as light rather than solid color. Both the tint and the transparent finish must match the original: an opaque or greasy blue of similar hue behaves completely differently in finished work. Browse our full SVC blue, aquamarine, and transparent inventory to compare against your reference material — this colorway is available in additional sizes.

Sizing note: This lot measured approximately 1.2–1.25mm 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.