| Agate | resembles stone, multi-colored swirls |
| Apollo | crystal coated with full colour & half silver mirror. Available in fire polished beads only. |
| Aurora Borealis (AB) | rainbow finish permanently applied to one side of the bead |
| AB2X | rainbow finish permanently applied to both sides of the bead |
| Azura | Antique half coating. Available in Fire Polished Beads only |
| Bronze | deeper metallic colour resembles bronze |
| Ceylon | transparent bead with a lustre finish, sometimes called greasy |
| Copper Lined | inside of bead is coated with copper. Seed beads only |
| Dyed | transparent bead treated with dye to alter colour; will fade |
| Galvanized | zinc plated coating, wears off easily |
| Ghost | Matte AB, trademarked by one supplier |
| Gilt Lined | gold colour lining inside the bead |
| Glow | a coloured luster finish on a transparent bead |
| Gold Lined | real gold lining inside the bead |
| Gold Luster | a golden luster finish on a transparent bead |
| Iris | a metallic rainbow on an opaque bead; irridescent, looks like an oil slick |
| Lustre | a pearlescent finish |
| Matte | frosted by acid etching or sand blasting to remove the shine |
| Matte Rainbow (M/R) | matted with a rainbow finish |
| Metallic (MET) | metal colour sprayed on bead; may wear off |
| Mottled | a marbled effect, looks like a sponged on finish |
| Opal | milky, semi-transluscent finish |
| Opaque (OP) | solid colour, no light passes through |
| Painted | colour coated over an opaque bead |
| Pearl | luster finish on an opaque bead |
| Plated | metal plating over another surface |
| Rainbow (R/B) | AB coating over the entire surface of the bead |
| Raku | matte vitrail |
| Satin | striated finish looks like satin. Soft, low-lustre |
| Semi-Matte (S/M) | partially matted |
| Silky | opaque, shiny. Available in fire-polished beads only |
| Silver lined (S/L) | transparent bead lined with silver, looks metallic and gives a mirror-like effect. Available in seed & bugle beads |
| Supra Metallic | baked on metallic coating, more durable than sprayed on coatings, looks matte |
| Supra Pearl | baked on pearl coating, looks matte |
| Tortoise | two transparent colours swirled together |
| Transluscent | a coloured bead that light shines through, but is not clear |
| Transparent (Trans) | a coloured bead that light shines through clearly |
| Vitrail | silver coating with a rainbow on half the bead |
| White Heart | a dark transparent or opaque bead with a white lining in the core of the bead. Gives intensity of colour |
