What kind of beads are best: Pandora, Biagi, or Chamilia? Or are they relatively the same?

pandora but they getting rid of those beads at our local bead store

Goede Doel Bedels

Looking for bead cores to purchase?

I have been looking online for bead cores to make pandora type beads for hours. I can find silver ones, yes, but they are pricey and I am a beginner… is there not some cheaper version to use until I get the hang of it? I have worded my searches every way I can think of and all I get is either the completed bead for sale or the silver cores. Oh and I get the sites where you buy the tubing and cut it down… that won’t work either. I am so frustrated!!

I wasn’t sure what “Pandora” beads were, but looking online they seem to be beads made with glass over silver (flanged) tubes.
If you’re using glass, I’d suggest you perhaps cut your own (inexpensive tubing made from aluminum, brass, etc) into lengths –it’s not that hard really– then flange the ends of each length a bit (can’t remember name of tool that helps do that, but you can probably ask about that as well as how to do what you want cheaply in the Metal board of the ArtJewlery magazine forum, perhaps in the “General Metalsmithing” sub-board –you’d have to join to ask questions, but it’s free):

http://cs.artjewelrymag.com/artcs/forums/23.aspx

Some of the Pandora bead images I saw look almost like polymer clay patterns (which can be made to look like opaque glass if desired):

http://www.topearl.com/beads/fimo-polymer-clay-pandora-c-113_98.html

and some clayers have put their beads over tube cores of metal or polymer clay or other materials (to make various sized “tube” beads”), or over flanged tubes like metal bobbins or eyelets/rivets/etc.
If you’re interested in those, here’s a bit of info about some of them:

http://www.polymerclaycentral.com/hollowbead1.html

http://www.humblebeads.com/tip6.html

http://klewexpressions.com/drum_beads.htm

http://polymerclaydaily.com/photos

If you’re interested in polymer clay for making tube cores or cylindrical beads with smaller holes, or info on making polymer clay look silver (or even using “metal clay” to do that–but has to be “fired”), check out my site (link just below) and look on at least the pages called:
Beads > Tubes or various other
Beads-Holes
Fauxs-Many > Metals

HTH,
Diane B.

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