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Hi, I just happened across your site while getting ideas for my wire wrap gemstones and sea glass.

The fact that you give away information, don’t insist personal information, has bought my business already.

To add to the joy (yes, I’m prone to hyperbole but I’m absolutely enchanted with your business model), you add stone treatment information rather than burying it somewhere.

It’s very important to me to be able to tell my customers the what’s been done to their stones, the quality, source and composition of the gems they buy.

I believe I’m the only vendor to have the FCC and AGIA disclosure booklets available at any festival I’ve attended.

You have a customer now and, if OK, I will use your page on stone treatments, with proper attribution of course, as a handout at my next festival the end of this month.

Brightest blessings,

Liz

Stone Treatment Codes

(B) block
(C) coated
(D) dyed
(E) enhanced
(H) heated
(I) irradiation
(F) infused
(M) man made - synthetic
(N) natural
(O) oiled
(P) pressed
(S) stabilized
(W) waxed

Bead Size Chart - Millimeters mm to Inches

Some people new to gemstones have never come across the metric measuring system often used in jewelry making. Even some of us who have been at it for a long time need help figuring out just how big 11mm is.

Dr Karen Meador made this chart for us and you to help us with these conversions. Feel free to use this chart on your site as long as you link to Karen and Magpie Gemstones.

Conversion of Units

25.4 millimeters (mm) = 1 inch

1 millimeter is less than 1/16 inch

To Convert Inches to Millimeters: Multiply Inches x 25.4

To Convert to Millimeters to Inches: Multiply millimeters x .03937

Conversion Chart: Millimeters to Inches

Mm	Inches in Decimals	*Inches in Fractions
1mm	0.04 inches	Less than 1/16 inch
2mm	0.08 inches	Greater than 1/16 inch & less than 1/8 inch
3mm	0.12 inches	Greater than 1/16 inch & less than 1/8 inch
4mm	0.16 inches	Greater than 1/8 and less than 3/16
5mm	0.2 inches	Greater than 3/16 and less than 1/4
6mm	0.24 inches	Greater than 3/16 and less than 1/4
7mm	0.28 inches	Greater than ¼ and less than 5/16
8mm	0.32 inches	Greater than ¼ and less than 5/16
9mm	0.35inches	Greater than 5/16 and less than 3/8
10mm	0.40 inches	Greater than 3/8 and less than 7/16
12mm	0.47 inches	Greater than 7/16 and less than 8/16
14mm	0.55 inches	Greater than ½ and less than 9/16
16mm	0.63 inches	Greater than 5/8 & less than 11/16
18mm	0.71 inches	Greater than 11/16 and less than 3/4

*The third column of this conversion chart is offered to help anyone who thinks more clearly using fractions than using decimals.

Approximate Number of Round Beads on a 16” Strand

2mm	3mm	4mm	6mm	8mm	10mm	12mm
203	136	100	67	50	41	34

Every inch is 25mm so times the number of inches by 25mm and you have how long the strand is in millimeters. Then divide by the width of the bead.

Karen Meador

Madeline Hoffman also offered up her chart that she uses for number of beads on a strand.

Number of beads in 14, 15, and 16 inch strands for 2-25mm beads:

Bead size	# of beads in 14" strand	# of beads in 15" strand	# of beads in 16" strand
mm 	355	381	406
2	177	190	203
3	118	127	135
4	88	95	101
5	71	76	81
6	59	63	67
7	50	54	58
8	44	47	50
9	39	42	45
10	35	38	40
11	32	34	36
12	29	31	33
13	27	29	31
14	25	27	29
15	23	25	27
16	22	23	25
17	20	22	23
18	19	21	22
19	18	20	21
20	17	19	20
21	16	18	19
22	16	17	18
23	15	16	17
24	14	15	16
25	14	15	16

**Contributing authors are noted in the articles they wrote. All articles are copyright. You can reprint these articles as long as the original author is sited and a link to this website is included. The name Magpie Gemstones must be used as the hypertext.

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