Cloisonne beads are created by affixing a metal wire to the base bead to act as a color seperater. A powdered colored glass enamel is then painted between the partitions. After a firing and polishing process, the bead is electroplated in a gold or silver film and a beautiful new bead is born. The art of cloisonne was first developed in the near east. The art form soon spread into China where many production facilities are operated today.
