Thanks for bringing this up again Steve!
I know that Jamey has covered this subject and we have all discussed it before but I still have questions.
I recall some years back when Ancients and Venetians were to be found in Tucson at the big show, these beads looked like they were soaked in a liquid nylon and they looked kind of fake! The luster, finish and texture didn't make sense to my eye and I stayed away from them for fear that they were fakes. I believe they came from somewhere in the Mid East as most of the dealers that handled them were Afghani. Last number of years the beads are looking more rough again and they have that "just excavated" look rather than the "new" look. Does anyone know what they were using at the time to stabilize the glass beads? My other question is about "water-glass" and "Opticon" has anyone ever used these products on old glass to help preserve it or bring it back to life? And lastly, Jamey you mentioned a product that people were using to "fix" their old beads that seems to work quite well, could you refresh my memory please?
Thank you, Thomas