Effetre Clear

Well - it seems sorta weird to be talking about Effetre Clear - but here goes.

I recently acquired 2 packages of Effetre Clear - one is the 004 Regular Clear, and the other is 006 Super Clear. These particular bundles were handpicked at the factory - from a new batch - and air freighted here - so they have the advantage of not having spent 3 months tossing around in a container - getting all scratched up.

They actually arrived with their Italian labels still intact - the Regular labeled
591004 05 No Ordine 8000338
Cristallo 5-6
Made in Italy

and the Super Clear labeled
591006 05 No Ordine 8000248
Cristallo Speciale 5-6
Made in Italy.

Sighting along the glass - they are both very nice and clear and not showing aqua or green but a nice, brilliant clear. Perhaps a tinge to the yellow - but very nice.

I started by cleaning both types with alcohol for maximum cleanness.

These first two are the Super Clear. The top bead was made using the "build up" method - and the bottom one was made using the "full gather" method. I tried both, as someone once opined to me that the full gather tended to trap more scum.

Here they are again, in the same order, on the right - w a black background to show more contrast.



And here we have the regular clear. The wound beads are on the top, and the full gather is on the bottom.

On the grey background - they look the same, but on the black, you can see that the regular clear - does, in fact - have more of the tiny little bubbles we call scum.

But where does the clarity of the clear really count? Why, in encasing of course. So here are two encased florals. The top, egg-shape, is the Super Clear, and the bottom bicone is the regular clear.

As you can see - florals are obviously not my particular speciality!

However - these both came out pretty nice! The larger airbubbles are me - and not part of the glass.

Both these clears are really pretty good - although, for the minor price difference - I'll be taking the super clear.

Why bother with Effetre clear - in the light of the other, lovely clears on the market? Well - when push comes to shove - it flows more freely and you can encase faster with it, short of getting a thicker rod. Sometimes - that's just really useful. And for beads like these florals - which aren't exactly works of art - everybody makes this flower! - it's good enough.

BTW - I kind of like the clear spacers. I wonder how a strand of those would look?

Didn't I pan a batch of Effetre Super Clear recently? Yes - I think I did. These are from a new batch, obviously. If only hand-picking at the factory were an easier option!