One of the questions I had after my first visit to Idar-Oberstein was wether bead production in Idar-Oberstein had stopped.
During the last trip, I came across, just before I had to leave, the company Impexco. According to their website, they were still supplying the Africans and Arabs with agate beads.

This time, Mr. Weinz, the director of the company was allowing me to tour his company and ask all the questions I had. It became a very informative afternoon.

In most literature on Idar Oberstein, it is said that the bead production stopped between 1980 and 1995. The boom period for agate products was in the 1920's and 30's, but had continued for quite some time after that. Cut by hand, polished by hand, drilled by hand. Using Brazilian stones and Idar-Oberstein workers.

However, the market in Africa slowed down, and German labor costs went up. Stone cutters could not interest their kids in taking over the business. Mr. Weinz appears to be one of the first major dealers to move production to Brazil. It makes sense: this is where the stone comes from, so why not let them make the products? So he shipped the machines and the expertise to Brazil, and this is where the production has been done sine the 1990's.

The products are then still shipped to Idar-Oberstein, and sold from there to a variety of buyers.
However, today, this production is slowing down quickly. Only a few dealers from Africa remain, and the quantity is nothing compared to what it used to be.

For the pictures.....
One thing I noticed in his warehouse were 'block stones'. We have discussed them here before, and Russ has shown us examples of production in China. So in my mind, these resin/plastic/stone powder type fake gemstones came from China.
Mr Weinz told me that these were first made in Idar-Oberstein, and when production became considered too hazardous for workers and the environment, production was moved to India. And now, he imports it from India and sells it onwards all over the world. Complete surprise to me, but there was a whole pallet sitting there, with the Indian shipping labels still on them.

Second picture shows the barrels that most of us that have been to Tucson may remember: apparently still the best way to ship large quantities of rough stones across the world.