I'm pretty sure I know the person you are writing about and these beads are most likely the products of the Fichtelgebirge region of Bavaria which produced furnace-wound beads into the 1960s. Many of the beads exhibit slight projections at the ends which represent the glass strand that linked the beads on the mandrel. I attach an image of a couple of Fichtelgebirge sample cards which show similar beads. For more info on the Fichtelgebirge bead industry, see my article:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/315708341_The_Fichtelgebirge_Bead_and_Button_Industry_of_Bavaria