My collection isn't based on value or trend or books, but it's based on something that I am passionate about & love. So therefore I want more and more of these pieces. So, to me, a bead is collectible if it falls into the category of what I personally collect. I think that's why I don't necessary like that word or use it. What is collectible to others may be something I don't consider important or wonderful or valuable but that may not be the case for others. So I think it's a misleading term. I also think that it is something that is uncommon or not too available which is why its important to collect or gather. If its a bead that is sold in every store & that everybody has, I would probably not want to collect it. I just re-read my response & I don't like what I expressed. Perhaps I'll answer again at another time!!! sorry :)

To be displayed at www.beadcollector.net

(Borrowing from the National Register of Historic Places)
How about, collectible beads are beads:
A. That are associated with cultural periods or expressions that are significant to the broad patterns of history; or
B. That embody the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction, or that represent the work of a master of group of masters, or that possess high artistic values; or
C. That have yielded or may be likely to yield, information important in history or prehistory.

With some beads one doesn't have a choice. they grab you and you must have them……...

Although it's sometimes tempting, I try not to answer my own questions because I do not want others to think I'm implying there's only one right answer.

What does it really mean:

*More people are interested in them?
** More valuable/priced?
***More culturally meaningful?
****More ahem...collectible?

Beyond "being collected (i.e. searched/valued/etc. by collectors")

Nishedha,

I understand how you could feel uncomfortable with this subject…After all, if "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" then who is to say what is collectible or not?

Also, as one of my art teachers used to say: "If everything is art, then nothing is art." Therefore, how can anyone believe that "All beads are collectible?"
But we may agree that some beads are more collectible than others.

As I see it, collectors often say they know what they like. But actually they like what they know about.

Here is a simple dictionary definition:

is what I find collectible. So if there were a bazillion multiples made, I'm not that interested in the beads even if they are "old"; also if there is isn't a link to some history that I find intriguing, even if the bead is unique I don't feel compelled to collect it. An example would be modern lampwork - so many beautiful beads (and others find them very collectible) but the recent "back story" doesn't interest me as much as, say, African trade beads or beads made for lace bobbin spangles.

Since I prefer to wear my collection, there is also a strong aesthetic component to the beads I pick out.

In other words, pretty much the same sentiment as others have expressed!

I think of a lot of thoughts I read here are similar to mine.
To me, when it comes to what I collect, there is another component. Rosanna also mentioned some of this.

I like to research beads. I generally collect the beads that have some relation with my research at the time. I have a large collection of Prosser beads. They do not really qualify as collectible for most people. They were made in bulk, they are not rare, they are not sought after very much and let's face it.....most of them are pretty ugly.
But when you have been at the factory where they used to be made, read the back story, dug through the trash to get to them, they became fascinating nevertheless.

This year, at the Tucson show, I hardly bought any beads. Partly to do with the flu, but mainly because I was in between research projects. I did not have a focus.

a many-fold answer.....Rarity, unique beads always draw me to them....quality, a top quality bead of a common bead may stir my passion........beauty, of course with all Objet d'art, beauty is a draw for me......Size, an unusual size variation of a particular bead type may be a deciding factor for me....value, a beads value may dictate my collecting it......market trends, as we collectors mature in our tastes, we sometimes find that we are drawn to different bead types at any given time, some may be because of popularity of certain beads, other times because of value trends in the markets, I try not to buy according to resell value but I am a realist and I know someday, maybe, I can sell my beads and not at a loss.....budget, and the #1 criteria for collecting beads would be the budget for them.....I would own all the Man-in-the-Moon beads if I could afford them...etc, etc, etc....we all live within our budgets and must collect accordingly!

I love, above all, the old and ancient beads.
For me, a bead has to have a history: when was she made?, where? Why? For whom? And then I am fascinated by the way which it borrowed. Know that a bead crossed several continents, that it was of use to the trade, know that it maybe helped to cure a sick person, that it was the wealth of a family, that it indicated the row of a man, interest me above all. Then I am always amazed to find a bead which crossed the centuries in spite of its fragility to arrive until me.
For me, these beads are "collectibles" above all!!!

I add also the rarity

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