I personally haven't come across any 'new' glass imitations. Even the old 'Sherpa Coral' is now very thin on the ground but this is the only glass coral I have seen. There could certainly be new glass beads being made but I haven't seen them. I tend to only look for the old stuff and easily overlook traders with Chinese beads.

Your friend was correct in saying that there is little genuine coral available in the marketplace. The 'best' flawless red coral that I saw this year (January) was selling at 4500 Rupees per gram!! That's around $60 a gram to you. Tibetans recognise that it will soon be gone and routinely bump up there prices. The average 'red' coral price seems to be around $20 per gram. Coral hunters are far more likely to find a good vintage mediterranean coral necklace in Europe or the US at a fraction of this cost.

I look forward to read your findings on fake turquoise. You do us all a great service with your work. If I come across any imitation glass coral beads I will get a sample for you.

All the best,

James