Delicas Beads, Sometimes Mistakenly Called Seed Beads, Are Cylindrically Shaped Glass Beads Made By World Celebrated Miyuki.
Delicas are a specific bead made by world famous Miyuki, Japan's oldest seed bead manufacturer. They are shaped like a cylinder with a large hole that provides room for several passes of thread through each bead and are available in a vast array of colors and finishes.
Size 11 is the most in demand size of the Delica beads with 944 varieties of colors, finishes and treatments in the round cylinders in addition to approximately 55 more in the hex cuts, which are hexagon shaped cylinders. The many variations are produced by specific glass treatments. There is basic transparent glass, basic opaque glass, and etched glass for a matte or semi-matte effect. Then there are the many different colored glasses.
In addition there are many different finishes or treatments. "Treatment" means something that is applied onto the surface of the glass and can be on the top, occasionally within the hole and in some instances one finish on the top and an alternate finish in the hole. Treatments can be made up of a clear "rainbow" or "aurora borealis" finish, a "pearl" finish, colored dyes, and many types of metal coatings including precious metals. Some Delica beads have more than one treatment applied to them in order to produce the desired effect.
Note that there could be durability issues with some of the finishes like the dyed or galvanized beads. The best shops will be able to supply you with the durability data.
Miyuki also produces a size 10 Delica that is slightly bigger, a size 8 that is much larger than the size 11, and a size 15 that is a lot smaller. The size 10 and 15 are quite new and as a result don't come in as as big a variety of colors and finishes as the size 11.
The quality of Miyuki's Delica beads is very high and therefore they are more expensive. You should acquire them from a well respected bead retailer that sells the genuine article. You should be aware that some retailers have been known to purchase cheaper, lower quality beads from another manufacturer and pawn them off as Delicas. Also be very careful if you are tempted to buy at an on-line auction.
If you are buying your beads to complete a pattern that provides you with the Delica number, such as DB-010, you shouldn't have a problem due to the fact that every color has a number. But if you are getting your beads by description you could have a problem, due to the fact that there is not a standard color description for each bead. The reason being that the Japanese description does not translate readily into English and the different importers each have their own interpretation. So it's always best to go by the DB- number.
True Delica beads are a great choice in any Loom, Peyote or Brick project due to the fact that they are so uniform. They make any pattern line up perfectly and give a clean, crisp finish to your project. There are fewer culls when you are working and therefore they are more cost effective than their price might indicate. And the color and finish selection is fantastic!