How are beads classified as antique??

[lsijohn]

How are beads classified as antique??

By size, color, or estimted age of the bead?? Or also by type....Italian or Czechoslovakian??

[Blackbear]

mostly by age I believe... and all the above are a part of it
I'll see if I can dig up some information on this..I used to know alot about it..but I've been drawing lots of blanks on things I know I know lately...LOL... So I'll be back with some better info for you.

[Blackbear]

Ok..could'nt find anything legible on the web..but did find a site for some antique dealers who deal with beads, beadwork and native american art and wrote them a letter...will let you know what they say when they reply.

[Czechy]

When it comes to beads, "antique" is a nebulous word and can mean different things depending on who you are talking to. There is no standard definition. Some bead sellers think beads made before 1950 are antique while others push the date further back. But you are right, in examining beads, one must look at color, shape, size, finish, how the hole was made, method of packaging and origin to get a general idea of age. Unfortunately, even the experts can't agree when certain colors were made as some were around for centuries. Bead making was a very lucrative business and color recipes were kept secret, only being passed down through families. That's why modern repro colors do not even come close to the old hues, the recipes were lost.

True antique beads (in the minds of many) include any Italian seed beads as production of these ceased by 1920. These beads had some distinctive colors whose recipes were lost. These beads are very hard to find and ungodly expensive.

Also true antiques are any bead size smaller than 16/0. Those are not made any more either.

For Czech seed beads, it will be hard to tell as they have a longer history of production but will generally date later than Italian beads.

Beads from Japan are the most recent to come on the market, so none of their seed beads can be considered antique in my opinion.

Not sure about French seed beads but feel these are around the same era as Czech.

There is really cool book called the History of Beads by Lois S. Dubin which can probably give you more info than I have.

[Blackbear]

Thanks Czechy...I was coming here to write that I had finally heard back and the person said...they cannot help me...can you believe that????

[Keely]

Originally posted by Czechy
When it comes to beads, "antique" is a nebulous word and can mean different things depending on who you are talking to. There is no standard definition. Some bead sellers think beads made before 1950 are antique while others push the date further back. But you are right, in examining beads, one must look at color, shape, size, finish, how the hole was made, method of packaging and origin to get a general idea of age. Unfortunately, even the experts can't agree when certain colors were made as some were around for centuries. Bead making was a very lucrative business and color recipes were kept secret, only being passed down through families. That's why modern repro colors do not even come close to the old hues, the recipes were lost.

True antique beads (in the minds of many) include any Italian seed beads as production of these ceased by 1920. These beads had some distinctive colors whose recipes were lost. These beads are very hard to find and ungodly expensive.

Also true antiques are any bead size smaller than 16/0. Those are not made any more either.

For Czech seed beads, it will be hard to tell as they have a longer history of production but will generally date later than Italian beads.

Beads from Japan are the most recent to come on the market, so none of their seed beads can be considered antique in my opinion.

Not sure about French seed beads but feel these are around the same era as Czech.

There is really cool book called the History of Beads by Lois S. Dubin which can probably give you more info than I have.

I have beads that are 20 and 22... they aint antique.. might be before I get around to using them though!

[Czechy]

Hey Keely, where did you get those size 20 and 22 beads from? If someone is making those again, I'd like to know!
Thanks!

[Keely]

I got mine from Issy Umschidt (sp) in Wichita, Kansas... he was selling out all his small beads, I got a bunch of many colors. I plan to use them on a knife for my father in law...

I dont know where Issy gets his beads from.. he was going to quit carrying them because no one wanted them...