a translucent oval tab focal in amber/purple silverglass & dark silver plum handmade lampwork

I am a self-representing artist and have been making glass beads for about seventeen years now. I have been an artist for much, much longer (don't even ask how long - it might give away my age!). My beads are made using a technique called "lampworking". The glass is melted in a VERY VERY hot flame and "wound" onto a metal rod, called a mandrel, that has previously been coated with a clay-like substance called a release. When all the decoration is finished the bead, still on the mandrel and still very hot, is placed into a 965-degree kiln to "anneal" overnight. This allows the glass to get to the same temperature throughout, and then cool down slowly to prevent cracking. Beads that are not annealed can be little "time bombs" waiting to crack!