The Glass Rainier Cherry beads you see here have a translucent quality just like real Rainier and Queen Anne cherries do. These beads are hand-formed one at a time in the flame of a torch from colored glass rods. The surface blush of pink to darker red is created by applying from one to twenty coats of powdered red transparent glass. During this time-consuming process each coat must be melted in smoothly before applying the next. Since no paint is used on the glass cherries the color will not rub, flake or chip off. No two cherries are ever exactly alike.

The standard size for BBHR-S, a "small" Rainier Cherry bead, is about 13mm high and about 16mm wide. This is a good size for earrings because they are not too heavy. It also works well for bracelets, or these beads can be grouped two or three at a time to make pendants. If you need your Rainier Cherry beads to be a particular size or degree of ripeness, please let me know when you order.

Each glass cherry bead is made by melting the yellow glass onto a loop of 18-gauge copper wire. Because the loop is embedded in the glass, the wire can never be pulled free from the bead. The end of the wire stem has been melted in the flame to round it over so it will not catch on clothing. As you can see in several of the pictures, the stem is about 2 inches long. You can make a loop and twist the stem as shown - I do this when making my Rainier Cherry earrings. Or you can cut the stem short (about 8mm long) and make it into a simple loop. This works best for bracelets.