I feel that I do not need to see the bead in person; it is obvious to me.

Although I am known for the Japanese ojime bead, I have much more experience with Chinese beads. When shopping for ojime, my eyes were drawn toward the closest examples, Chinese beads. There are countless more Chinese beads to study. And I started in beads just before the market was flooded with copies in the seventies and eighties. Sometimes the difference between the old and the new is very subtle. Standing on my head to explain the difference is exhausting. And few collectors outside of China seem to care.

I am beginning to see why young people are more interested in technology than archeology. In my case, I would rather buy beads than a new iPhone.

Just Fred