What Is Briolette Shape Means In Jewelry And Beads

Hi, there. In this video, I'm going to clear up any confusion you may have had about the bead shape called a briolette. I'll show you just what it is and just what it isn't.

So you may have heard the term briolette and wondered just what that means. By the way, it's spelled B-R-I-O-L-E-T-T-E, briolette. And there's often some confusion as to what, exactly is a briolette. When we think of it, we usually think of a teardrop shape, and that's true. So the definition of a briolette bead is that it is pear shaped, or teardrop shaped, and it is faceted. Beyond that, the interpretation is up to the individual. But what it needs to have is this shape, a teardrop shape, or a pear shape, and it needs to be faceted.

For example, I have these little green glass teardrops, and they are teardrop shaped and they're glass, but they're not faceted. So these are not briolettes. They're teardrop beads. I also have these tiger eye teardrops that are quite lovely. Again, top-drilled gemstones, but they aren't faceted, so they are not briolettes. They are tiger eye teardrops. But these ones, these green ones down here, by the way, are all from House of Gems. These are olive jade. These are glass, as are these large ones, and although they have somewhat different shapes and looks, these are all briolettes. These ones on the left and in the center are flat, but they're still briolettes because they're pear shaped and they're faceted.

And as a rule, briolettes are going to be drilled across the tip of the bead. Sometimes they're drilled through the center, but most of the time you will find them drilled across the tip because that really enhances that pretty, hanging shape. These ones are in the round. So if you look at it from the bottom or from the tip, then they're round, and from the side they have that teardrop or pear shape. But they come in all different proportions. Like I said, you can see that these are pretty round. These are flattened. These ones are nice and elongated, and very graceful. This is a Swarovski crystal briolette, quite lovely with its facets. This is another briolette; it has a slightly different shape, more pear shaped than teardrop, but it's also a briolette.
And you can see they come in all different colors, like I said, gemstones from olive jade, or glass, or crystal. They're beautiful strung onto jump rings. They're gorgeous if you wire-wrap the top. But that is what a briolette is.