The house standard. Nine progressive stages through to a felt wheel and a proprietary compound — and the finish where a supplier can save money most invisibly.
Nine stages
- Stages
- Nine, progressive
- Audited stages
- Three, six and nine
- Final stage
- Felt wheel, proprietary compound
- Where it matters most
- Transparent and pale tones
Why polish is where corners get cut
Because a strand that has been through six stages instead of nine looks acceptable on the bench and only reveals itself later, next to a piece that had all nine. There is no dimension to measure and no photograph that settles it — which is precisely why we audit stages three, six and nine rather than assume them.
The heavier alternative — buffing hard to hide tool marks — rounds off shoulders and destroys the geometry the profile was cut for. A strand where every bead has slightly different shoulders has been buffed, not polished, and the difference shows in how the run catches light along its length.
What it does and does not fix
It will not fix an off-centre drill hole, a bead cut to the wrong height, or colour drift. Polish is the last operation, and it makes a well-made bead look like what it is; it cannot rescue one that was made badly. Any supplier promising that polish will hide an upstream problem is describing a different problem.
What buyers ask about this
Ask for the inspection record. We audit stages three, six and nine and the record exists because we need it internally.
No. Buffing rounds off shoulders to hide tool marks and destroys the profile geometry. It is the cheap substitute.
Transparent and pale grades, where surface and interior are both visible.
The rest of the surface finishes
Send a sample before you commit.
Three to five physical variations, couriered worldwide in seven to ten working days. A specification like this one is decided properly in the hand.