The beads are much smaller than I expected (of course, I didn't really know how big a 1.2mm bead was so my fault there). It is a very pretty chain and I know I'm going to enjoy wearing it. The beads are an almost white silver. The only reason for 4 stars is the strange delay in delivery. It was scheduled to arrive on a Sunday--looked like it had shipped but then everything went kinda blank--I didn't receive it until the following Thursday.