Made in Italy, these blown flat, round Murano glass beads are unrivaled by any other blown glass bead in the world. Using the vibrant colors of Effetre Murano Glass, these beads exhibit a brilliance in both color and clarity. To get this shape, the bead maker begins by blowing a round bead, then using special tools, flattens the beads to this shape, called piatta. They make great earrings in this shape and are lightweight yet sturdy. They also work very well for necklaces as they lay against the body nicely. Each bead is unique and is the result of the artist's hand working at temperatures in excess of 1600F. As always, if you are making earrings, please request that they be matched, a service we provide free of charge to all customer. You can do this on the comments section of the checkout process.