My self esteem is not derived from my role as a bead researcher. I am Just Fred -a compulsive bead shopper, having spent hours, days, and months in Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong with my eyes wide open and my wallet tightly shut -swimming with the sharks and a translator at my side ten to twelve hours a day.

The weather in Beijing is nearly identical to New York City. It is very hot in the summer and very cold in the winter. Therefore, I almost always stay next door to Curio City and the Panjiayuan market so that I may take breaks in my hotel room. The copies which enter the shops of the finest dealers seem to pop up like mushrooms -with striking similarity and at the same time. Prices justify one of a kind copies. Today, there are three Curio or "Antique Cities" next door to one another in the Panjiayuan area. This area offers at least one thousand shops and land mines of opportunities.

In Simon Kwan's book you point out pages 185 and 187: I see a reddish brown color in his beads which I feel conflicts with the reddish red colors in Kika's bead. I have often heard that my sense of color is astute. And there seems to be agreement between a prominent bead magazine editor and Jamey Allen that some of the red colors in Kika's bead appear to be modern or restored. Bead specialists disagree. Difference of opinion among recognized experts is part of the drama which makes sleuthing in the bead world challenging and fun.

Unfortunately, even the finest examples of Warring States Beads which have surfaced during the last ten to twenty years are guilty until proven innocent. Chinese copyists are that good.

Will, everyone loves hearing from you because you're an ingenious role model for diplomacy. You are my first choice to lead a panel discussion on Warring States Beads at the next International Bead Conference.

Kind Regards,
Just Fred