 Blown Glass Beads
By Peter Francis, Jr.
 Blowing (initially from the lungs; more recently mechanically) is used in the making of some drawn and segmented beads. However, blown beads are defined as beads made from tubes in which incoming air helps form one or a series of beads.
We do not know when this process was invented. A story is that a certain M. Jaquin from Passy near Paris realized that fish scales would yield a protein (guanine) that resembled the surface of pearls. In the mid or late 17th century he began making "Roman" pearls by coating the inside of blown glass beads with guanine and inserting wax to hold the guanine and give the pearls some weight. It is unknown if he invented the whole process or only the guanine extraction. The family continued the work for 200 years.Continued
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