Wednesday, June 11, 2014

ThinkGeek Space Lampwork Charm Bead Review

This is my first glass bead, bought along with my first charm bracelet. I wanted something that would be roughly the same size as the Bling Mushroom and I thought this looked pretty.


This bead is a ThinkGeek Exclusive and is black lampwork glass with blue dichroic flecks and a sterling silver core. The blue dichroic flecks are supposed to mimic stars hence the name "Space" for the bead. ThinkGeek thought this was appropriate as well since modern dichroic glass was developed by NASA.

Dimensions: 9 mm wide (along the bracelet), 5 mm diameter hole (4.5 mm reported on product page -- but it seems closer to 5 mm to me), 15 mm overall diameter.

ThinkGeek Space Lampwork Bead ThinkGeek Space Lampwork Bead
Space Lampwork Bead

I love looking at the pretty blue and purple dichroic flakes. I also like to wear it with my NASA Kennedy Space Center charm. I bought that years ago, and was pleased to discover that it fits on my Trollbeads bracelet (the spring ring was just big enough).

ThinkGeek Space Lampwork Bead, Trollbeads White Flower
ThinkGeek Space Lampwork, NASA, Trollbeads White Flower


Pro and Con: It has a large diameter hole (4.5 mm reported on product page -- seems closer to 5 mm), which means it fits other competing bracelets. However, the large hole looks rather unattractive.
ThinkGeek Space Lampwork Bead

Pro: Very affordable.

Con: The core uses grommets as opposed to silver tubing. I presume the grommets are glued in. You can see the exposed middle due to use of grommets in the picture below. I'm not sure how likely it is for the core to get unstuck and fall out, so we'll see.

I found a video that talks about using glue in grommets here -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BT7D92VEbEM.

ThinkGeek Space Lampwork Bead

Conclusion: I like it okay. The large core detracts from the beauty of the glass for me. Guess I'm a wee bit spoilt after having discovered Trollbeads. I'll leave you with another picture of how I've worn this bead.

Ohm Screw Me, ThinkGeek Space, Sea Urchin, Novobeads Spring Green
Ohm DIY Screw Me, ThinkGeek Space, Sea Urchin, Novobeads Spring Green CZ (Stoppers on ends) on Novobeads Bracelet

No comments:

Post a Comment