What is the difference between Miyuki and Toho beads?
Just as the name the beads are also very unique. Yes, we are talking about the Miyuki seed beads and Toho beads jewelry. Today there is a lot of distinct fashion wear as people have started to explore DIY jewelry making with these special beads. Since the millennium bead jewelry has been the talk of the town. These are decorative pieces of ornaments that make the accessories stunning. The decorative artworks can be in the form of shells, gemstones, glass, beads, etc. the ones called seed beads are the tiniest and are products of glass.
Very long ago the oldest form of jewelry worn by the Neanderthal man came from teeth and bones. It may sound creepy but at that time it would have been a style statement. The ancient period had many intricate jewelry designs, for example, the bracelets, necklaces, and forearm bracelets that were found on the pharaoh’s body were stunning which was studded jewelry.
The unique set of seed beads known as Miyuki – what is their specialty?
The history of the Miyuki seed beads dates back to the 1930s when Japan had Emperor Hirohito which is the initial Showa period. Fukuyama had seed manufacturing and Seiichi Katsuoka’s grandson started the brand named Miyuki in the 1970s. Today it is one of the world’s famous manufacturing units which has its prime focus on making excellent creative jewelry.The Miyuki beads come with great authenticity and top-class quality.
They are priceless and have distinct color yet it has uniformity in shape. The artists make innovative designs of the beads. These Japanese-made seed beads are lead-free and made from glass. The most attractive and striking feature of them is their consistency in shape, size, color, and thickness. These beads are long-lasting and strong. They can be added to beautiful jewelry or also can be used to make beautiful studded fabric.
The Miyuki which are cylindrical and circular or hex cut in shapes are very famous for their precision and consistency. The bead shape is smooth. They are in rainbow colors and their hues. The beads get a unique surface treatment that brings added gloss, shine and glow to the beads. For example, the beads are in metallic shine, opaque, translucent, frosted, silky, lustrous, etc. the finish is also in wide variations like iris, reflective and non-reflective, mate, etc.
The Toho beads:
TOHO seed beads are amongst the top-quality glass beads that hail from Japan. They are known for their precision and fine art. These make beautiful accessories and can be woven into clothes, jewelry, and also used to make decorative handlooms, home decorative objects like studded mirrors, wall décor, designer lights, etc. Toho beads are most popular and loved by customers. They are known for their consistency and the purest quality.
As they are in round 11 shape they make the best suitable one for any kind of use whether embroidery, designs, jewelry, etc. The holes are round, triangles, diamonds, and square in shape and can be easily attached with strings. The hole is large enough for the needles to pass easily. Also because of the big hole, the beads weigh less than other brands.The beads have consistent color therefore the designers find them accessible to recreate unique designs. The color range includes a transparent, opaque, metallic finish, glossy look, and many more. The Toho brand brings its nylon strings which makes the stringing process simple, the strings are resistant, strong, and durable making the jewelry design long-lasting.
When you talk about the differences the Miyuki beads are said to be more distinctive than Toho. The shape of the beads is slightly different. The size of Toho beads is a little large than the Miyuki beads. For instance, if you take the same size 11/0 in both Toho and Miyuki the Toho beads look a little large than the Miyuki. Toho also has less wastage as they are more uniform and regular in size.
Both brands offer beads regular shapes and Miyuki beads are known as Delicas and Toho are called treasures. The seed beads are different in color. The Delicas bring a wide variety in a range of colors than the treasures. Although Toho is trying to bring more colors Miyuki has already set an example with the large variety.
Generally, the beads are made in two methods the first is with a mold press where the glass is shaped into the desired shape using a mold and the second is the mosaic beads.