Czech Beads are beads that are made from fine glass materials. Beads made from glass from the country of Czechoslovakia have a very rich tradition and it runs back to some thousands of years. The skills of making beads from glass were introduced by Celts who possessed the skills of making some of the finest glass beads. Apart from Celts history also has information to prove that Monks who in the various monasteries of this country also had the skill and capability to make these Czech Beads. In fact if one gathers more information about the excavations belonging to the 12th centuries, you are sure to come across a lot of information regarding the presence of these special glass beads. In fact history has it that the art of glass making moved away from Celts and Monks and shifted to the forests and even tribal people became involved in this art and slowly and steadily it became a cottage industry in this country.
Over the years it has grown in stature and quality and today these Czech beads are considered by many to be masterpieces and are even compared to the natural beads that occur in the bottom of sea beds. During the days of the cold war, it is understood that the Czech beads industry was so huge that USSR had to create a separate state agency to procure and distribute the beads amongst their countrymen. The breakup of the USSR saw a big rise in the demand for such beads and today these Czech beads form a very important part of the entire cottage industry in Czechoslovakia.
There are different types of Czech beads that are available across the world and one of the most common varieties is the fire polished beads. They come in various sizes and shapes and some common names that come to mind as far as these beads are concerned are bicone, rondelle, roller, parachute and pear. These are basically names of the shapes of these beads. They also come in various colors and in fact the richness of colors is one of the special features of these beads from The Czech Republic.
Though Czechoslovakia continues to be the major player of these beads, of late there are other countries too that are jumping into the fray. India in particular is a emerging as a leading nation in the manufacture and sale of these Czech beads and in fact is offering tough competition to the traditional Czech bead manufacturers.