Weight?

trollfinder wrote:

Michelle wrote:Michelle wrote:
I wish I was a new silver trollbead

Which one?

A lighter one than befor  

  ditto!!  

  and    me too

I actually am very happy that there are light weighted beads - otherwise I would not be able to wear my HU - the bracelet would just be too heavy. But I agree that the price does not reflect the value anymore in many of the beads...

I like my silver beads to be really heavy - I always find I'm disappointed if they are lighter and I never really buy many beads which have openwork to them either as I don't like too many open spaces on a bead.

Unfortunately the weights given on TB universe are pretty useless as the beads meet the estimated weight only by random.
Even if you buy a bead on retail date from your LD, the weight can be different from what TB universe says.
Even if you ask TBHQ about the difference there's only "don't worry, it's ok"
Even if you have multiples, putting them on a scale will give some variety in weight.
I have given up on that  

Is it because lost wax moulds aren't very accurate? So there is a variation in bead weight, on top off purposely reducing the size of the mould? Just spit balling....but they must be aware (not robbed blind) and just don't want to acknowledge it to customers.

I quite like the way that the beads can vary. Seems a wee bit less mass produced that way.  Silly of me I know.

No, not silly. Maybe you're thinking is closer to wabi sabi.

My previous profession was museum conservator so you are very right.

I would love that job, I'm always dragging my lot to museums. They hate it, I don't care!   

Brightonbelle wrote:I quite like the way that the beads can vary. Seems a wee bit less mass produced that way.  Silly of me I know.

Actually, I agree.  (within limits given the prices of course, especially for gold beads.) I just wonder how much of the variance is random and how much TB deliberately decided to downsize, assuming that they did and have. Which I think is a pretty safe assumption but is what prompted my post, to find out what others with scales have discovered. I'm guessing quite a few collectors have scales too, it's a handy tool and not expensive. I am finding it interesting weighing my duplicates. And they have been quite close to the TB weight in most cases. 

I don't know about variance in weight within the same design (though one of my three Joyful beads is visibly smaller than the other two, and I know they're all authentic). I don't have an accurate enough set of scales to comment, but I do agree that the new releases seem to get flimsier and smaller each time. I was terribly disappointed when I went to my LD to see the Phoenix bead, for instance - a very frail thing.