To say they are new, in the case of these beads in my opinion, is not to say they are junk. Kamol asks nearly 300.00 U.S. for some of his strands made in India. They (and yours) are beautiful beads and are, as explained by Kamol, finished by hand. That's why they don't have that off-putting high gloss that most new stone beads do today. They have a soft satiny shine.