FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
- What are your earrings made of?
- The glass beads are made using borosilicate glass (boro), more commonly known as Pyrex. The findings are sterling silver and Bali silver. The majority of the findings are our own design and made in our studio.
- How do you make your beads?
- Our beads are made by wrapping molten glass around a steel rod in the flame of a torch. It is the same technique that has been used by bead makers for thousands of years. Check our history of lampwork page for more details.
- Do you make all your beads yourself?
- Absolutely. Everything we sell is made in our own workshop in British Columbia, Canada.
- What does it mean to "anneal" a bead?
- Annealing is heating a piece of glass until its temperature reaches a stress–relief point – a temperature at which the glass is still too hard to deform, but is soft enough for internal stresses to ease. The piece is then allowed to heat–soak until its temperature is even throughout. The piece is then slowly cooled. This relieves the internal stresses, resulting in a piece which should last for many years. Glass which has not been annealed will usually at least crack, and can shatter due to a seemingly minor temperature change or other shock.
- Does the silver tarnish?
- Our earrings and Pendants are created then polished and then coated to prevent tarnishing. The coating is a barrier which prevents tarnishing and will last for about a year in stores. A second more durable option is to electropate them with Palladium. Palladium will last indefinately and allows many people with an allergy to silver to wear our earrings.
- Can I purchase a pendant at a later date to match the earrings?
- Yes, but to match the beads as close as possible is it best to purchase them on the same order. Every batch of glass, every flame and every kiln firing is a little different and it is difficult to get a good match at a later date.
- I already have a silver chain. Do I need to buy a chain for the pendant?
- No, our pendants are designed with a loop that is large enough to slide over most chains and clasps.
- Where is your jewelery made?
- All of our jewelery is handcrafted in our studio in Nelson, British Columbia.
- Is there any control on where your jewelery is sold?
- Yes, we will attempt to sell to a limited number of retail locations in a specific geographical location.
- How accurate are the colors on your website?
- We’ve taken every measure to ensure the accuracy of the colors on our website. We use a professional digital SLR camera and a white-light, jewelry specific lighting studio. All our equipment has been hardware color calibrated. We cannot guarantee however the accuracy of your computer’s monitor. For optimal results, we suggest calibrating your monitor with a hardware device such as the ColorVision Spyder.
- Do I have to be a PayPal member to make a purchase from your website?
- No. All you need is a credit card. While we do use PayPal for secure credit card transactions, you’re not required to sign up for an account.
- Do you sell wholesale?
- Yes, we do. You must create a customer account in order to purchase our earrings and pendants at wholesale cost. We must approve your customer account information before establsihing wholesale pricing.
- Who can buy wholesale?
- We sell wholesale to retail shops as well as those people who wish to sell through home parties.
- How do I set up a wholesale account?
- To begin you must contact us via email or telephone with your request to set up a wholesale account. Once approved, you can create a Customer Account on the web site by clicking Wholesale Login and following the prompts to enter your full name, email address and select a password. You will be contacted via email when your wholesale account is activated.
- I’m a wholesale customer but I’m seeing full retail prices on the product pages. How do I see wholesale pricing?
- To begin, login to your customer account. The wholesale login is located on the left-side navigation menu on each page. Enter your username and password to log in. You will then be able to view the wholesale prices of our jewelry.
- What currency are your prices quoted?
- All of our prices are quoted in Canadian dollars. The exchange US dollar price is listed below the Canadian dollar price.
- Do you have a toll free phone number?
- Yes! You can call us from 8:00am to 6:00pm PST. Our toll free number is: 1-866-825-3467
- Do you accept custom orders?
- We do custom work on an individual basis. Email or telephone with your request. We’ll do our best to accommodate your needs.
Can't find an answer to your question?
Email: info@wiredonglass.com