The glass for a start; the colours; the perforations; almost certainly the structure, the method of manufacture. Though the photo isn't very clear, Max's (McBead's) beads have a completely different feel to me.

These drilled beads of Alex's, which are being churned out in Indonesia as we speak, have been drilled from opposite ends to create an impression of age because someone has told the guys who make them that that is how ancient stone beads were made - which in many cases was correct. But of course, as we all know, it's not the way a whole lot of ancient glass beads were made. So, right from the start, they're not very good or convincing fakes, especially in comparison to the brilliant copies of mosaic beads that the better craftsmen in East Java are producing - now they really are difficult to distinguish from the real thing.

All the best,

Will