because generally antique dealers here in UK, because of our imperial and colonial history, still have an enormous variety while they may overprice the few they recognise, they underprice everything else, so if you have studied the subject you can quietly pick out and afford the good stuff- its the joy of discovery-

of course as a designer/jeweller i'd love to find the workplaces of original artists working in many craft traditions and all fine skilled work is equally fascinating even if the techniques have limits-

in my opinion there are very few really intrinsically ugly beads- its how they may be used that determines their value.