Here are a couple more pics of beads being worn in today's Tibet.
Coral is very popular - and in the past this product had extreme value - to such an extent that carnelian was worn as a coral look-a-like. Today coral is still a big hit(the lucky color red) - with beads being manufactured and dyed specialy for the Tibetan trade by the Chinese.
Turquoise, another popular bead, also comes from China - nearly all those beads on the girls head are new beads. This turquoise type is common in all the local bead stores - but you dont see so much of it offered to tourists (but you sometimes see it in antique shops being sold as old stone). Souvenir turquoise usually consists of far more regular type stones in rather exotic stringing arrangements - you don't see many of the locals wearing that stuff!!!!

PS - that turquoise girl was so pretty - that I had fantasies of taking up a nomadic life on the grasslands. However a heavy right-hook from my wife brought me back to reality once again :)