Topic: Bead Bracelet ?

[bat20]

I know nothing about beads sadly , these ones cover a lot of different glass finnishes , some are cut and one with amber flash?Any thoughts on origin and dates ,could be yesterday ??vintage ??thanks

[bat20]

Starting to think older and Murano ?

[chopin-liszt]

I very strongly suspect rather new and from India.
Beads are notoriously difficult to specify origins for, they are often piecemeal, home made lampwork things.
I have been told you can tell old Bohemian from old Italian by the colour of the core. Bohemian beads tend to have a white chalky one, a residue left from the stuff they put on wires to allow the bead to be released, while Italian ones tend to be black - copper oxide from the wires the beads are formed on.
From my own collection, I can say that my old beads do have these two different cores.
But in the years since I did collect beads, many contemporary manufacturers have started making beads that look old. Even ones with foil and those aventurine trails with little roses on.
I would also suggest that the plethora of new stuff has affected the market for the old, especially given how those could never be truly properly identified.

[bat20]

Thanks Sue ,that’s great information and logged, cheers .

[chopin-liszt]

When I said; "I have been told"- it was by two of the Antiques Roadshow appraisers. I think it was Judith Miller and Andy McConnell. It was some years ago.
The really old foil beads I liked were getting harder and harder to find and I was always outbid by somebody in America.
What it comes down to, is beads have only really have decorative value.
But some of them are very decorative indeed. I have Indian ones. I like a bit of costume jewellery bling.

[bat20]

I guess those two have seen a few glass beads in their time Sue !.I have to say aswell I’m a big fan of Indian craftsmen ,I think their hand to eye is second to none and all with limited resources .

[chopin-liszt]

They certainly seemed to understand my attraction to them and I suspect they were about as disappointed as I was that so little CAN be found out.
Piecework and lampwork. A gig economy.
And as Andy pointed out, the glassmaking areas of north Italy are not really that far away from the Bohemian areas producing them either.