Firepolishing is the technique that gives glass beads much of their shine and luster. The heat slightly melts the outsides of the beads, changing them from slightly matted, to shiny and reflective. Today, most Czech glass beads are firepolished using sets of trays on which rods full of glass beads are spaced to run through a kiln. Originally, however, glass beads were firepolished by hand in wood-burning fires. The workshops in which many artisans would work over the past two centuries would look like the one below, where everything revolved around the fireplace for both creating and firepolishing the beads.
The beads (after being pressed, then faceted, but before being firepolished), look like these below. They are slightly matted.
This man still employs classic firepolishing techniques that he learned from previous generations. He has been firepolishing for 35 years, and does this full-time. Although most beads today are firepolished in kilns, he will often do short-run items for factories after they cut the beads, or when their kilns are already at capacity.
He begins by taking a clay fire-resistent shelf, and loading it with a fine powder about 1/4" deep. This prevents the beads from rolling around or sticking to the shelf, and ensures that the beads get a consistent firing of heat on all sides. Once the powder is in place, he fills the shelf with beads, and is in the photo above adding the last few beads to this shelf.
