ZUTTO exclusive, plump berry beads hoop earrings

A single, tiny bead

is combined, connected, and woven together to form a single shape,

which is sometimes breathtakingly beautiful.

I think that's where the true charm of beads lies.

Air is blown into molten glass,

shaping it into a tube, which is then finely cut and rounded at the edges to create

round, uniform beads. The fragile, transparent quality of the glass

draws us in.

How beautiful it would be to adorn one's ears with such glass beads.

What would sophisticated, elegant bead earrings look like?

With this thought in mind, we this time asked FALBE, a bead brand,

to create special-order bead earrings for us. 

This time, we requested hoop earrings that could be worn elegantly at the ears.

MIYUKI, the bead maker behind FALBE,

produces beads that all have a beautiful shine,

and their elegance makes them suitable even for semi-formal occasions,

so we requested a hoop earring design. 

And what resulted were earrings made using "berry beads."

Unlike round, uniform beads,

berry beads look as though two beads have been fused together,

with a plump shape on either side of the central hole.

When combined, they alternate to create a three-dimensional effect,

giving them a lovely, moderately voluminous appearance.

The light reflecting off the rounded, bumpy beads creates subtle shadows,

giving them a truly elegant impression. 

In typical hoop earrings, the earring itself and the catch (backing) are separate pieces,

so when worn, they form a "C" shape with an opening at the back of the ear,

but FALBE's berry beads hoop earrings

have the earring body and catch connected as one.

In other words, when worn, the beaded hoop continues unbroken from the front to the back of the earlobe,

forming a beautifully rounded shape that maintains its elegant form.

With the catch built in, there's no worry about losing it when you take the earrings off — a nice bonus. 

There are four colors in total.

White: A glossy off-white. It gives an elegant impression and can be worn in formal settings as well. 

Clear: The hole of each bead is finished in gold, giving it a beauty that avoids being too simple.

Gold: A gold that isn't too flashy, with a calm impression. Shadows form depending on how the light hits it.

Gray Silver: Easy to pair with both dressy and casual outfits, giving a sophisticated finish.

The earring post (the part that goes through the ear) and the catch are made of 10-karat gold.

Metal allergies occur when metal reacts with sweat and other substances.

Metals have a tendency to slightly dissolve their components into moisture such as sweat,

and when this combines with proteins in the body, it becomes an allergen,

causing symptoms such as itching and rashes.

By choosing metals that are less prone to dissolving, such as gold, platinum, and titanium,

it's possible to prevent metal allergy reactions. 

Beads are produced all over the world, including in Czechia, India, and China,

but among these, Japanese beads are top quality.

This is because each individual bead made in Japan is uniform and well-shaped,

so they line up beautifully when made into a finished product.

In particular, MIYUKI's delica beads, used for FALBE, when woven,

have a uniform cylindrical shape that leaves no gaps between adjacent beads,

and seeing the finished product, the only word that comes to mind is "beautiful." 

However, continuously producing uniform beads with consistent shape

requires no ordinary level of skill.

Even when made with the same materials and the same process,

the beads never turn out exactly the same,

and just a slight change in the mixture,

or a slight change in the condition of the kiln,

can result in something completely different. 

What keeps it always as close to perfect as possible

is the skill of experienced artisans; at MIYUKI, each process is refined over years, even decades,

with each person becoming a specialist in their process,

facing the challenges of bead-making. 

MIYUKI currently produces as many as approximately 15,000 varieties of beads, differing in shape, size, color,

and finish, and relies on

indispensable specialists who protect this quality

and strive for further improvement.