12/0 3-cuts Opaque Dark Blue

The Opaque Dark Blue beads are a rich blue that is not as dark as the navy and dark navy blues. Use to contrast with bright colors or with -0168 Opaque Navy Blue and -0169 Opaque Dark Navy Blue for shading.

Opaque glass does not allow any light to pass through the bead. This gives these beads a solid look while still shiny. Many of our customers refer to this as the “regular” or “plain” beads as they are some of the most commonly found beads in both historical and contemporary indigenous bead art.

3-cuts are popular for indigenous bead art, especially beaded earrings and powwow beadwork. They are especially shiny, glittery, and glamorous. The manufacturing process includes reheating the beads to add random facets, which adds extra flashiness. This process is labor intensive and adds to the manufacturing costs, which is why these are some of the more expensive Czech beads on the market. Their unique shape makes 3-cut beads great for applique, lane stitching, and bead-stringing but they are unsuitable for peyote stitch, loomwork or other projects requiring strict uniformity.

Size 12/0 3-cuts measure approximately 1.9mm. We recommend a Size 12 needle and Size Nymo thread for most bead art using 12/0 3-cuts. Sold by the hank. Hanks contain approximately 3,000 first-quality, glass beads strung on 10 strands. Made in the Czech Republic.