The term Venetian beads inspires the same distinction as Hand Cut Crystal, Tiffany Silver, Stuben Glass, and a number of other prominent terms which all represent “world class quality.”  A definition well deserved in the case of Venetian beads.  By 1850, early in the period when Venetian glass bead making was evolving from a craft to an art form, there were families, such as the Cattelan Family in Murano,Italy have been making beads and the glass to make the beads since the 15th Century.  The involvement on the part of these families was total, as there was little else in their lives other than bead making.