Seed Beads - Chinese, Czech & Japanese
A Guide to Quality and Sizes
Japanese Seed beads are widely regarded as the best quality seed beads, well known Japanese manufacturers are Matsuno, Miyuki and Toho. Toho have larger holes making them ideal for multi-strand projects. Czech seed beads are also known for being good quality with a fair consistency, whilst Chinese Seed Beads are excellent value for money and useful for many jewellery projects.
There is a number system used universally for Seed Bead sizes, the higher the number the smaller the size. Sizes below are a guide, and may vary slightly by different make/manufacturer, we have a basic guide to the most popular sizes below.
6/0 Beads = 4mm estimate
8/0 Beads = 3mm estimate
11/0 Beads = 2mm estimate
13/0 Beads - 1.7mm estimate
15/0 Beads = 1.5mm estimate