Although I have an opinion, I offer questions only as food for thought.

There are many subjects where there is room for a different approach.
And, I do not want anyone to presume I am looking for the "right" answer.

Apparently, there is a large market for those who are intentionally collecting copies.
I am asking collectors to think about what they would say, if they felt like speaking.

I think the answers to this question are fairly self-evident. The Pros are that you get to have and enjoy some of the most-beautiful and well-made beads circulating in recent times. They are impressive products, in their own right(s).

The Cons are that MANY people are delightfully uninformed about reproductions—and have been conned into thinking the beads they have bought are much older, more valuable, and rarer than is the truth (as I have remarked numerous times).

So, the pros are based on impressive esthetics; while the cons are based on misrepresentation and rip-off mentality.

Thankfully, BCN Forum exists to counter misinformation and deception, by informing the reading public that these scams are being perpetrated. And all the while we get to view photographs of great stuff along the way. JDA.

http://beadcollector.net/cgi-bin/anyboard.cgi?fvp=%2Fopenforum%2F&tK=java+Beadman&wT=1&yVz=yTz&aO=1&hIz=5000&hJz=4000&cmd=find&by=&xcfgfs=tK-wT-yVz-aO-hKz

http://beadcollector.net/cgi-bin/anyboard.cgi?fvp=%2Fopenforum%2F&tK=java+Beadman&wT=1&yVz=yTz&aO=1&hIz=4000&hJz=3000&cmd=find&by=&xcfgfs=tK-wT-yVz-aO-hKz

http://beadcollector.net/cgi-bin/anyboard.cgi?fvp=%2Fopenforum%2F&tK=java+Beadman&wT=1&yVz=yTz&aO=1&hIz=3000&hJz=2000&cmd=find&by=&xcfgfs=tK-wT-yVz-aO-hKz

The same thing happened to fine art as well. Some very famous artist trained by copying originals. The more simple the art is the more fakes there are. Picasso is one example.
Therefore....more education was required to be called an expert on any particular artist.
Anything that can be of value is subject to counterfeiting. You can see this with civil war items. even uniform buttons are counterfeited.
This means that as collectors....you need to be sharp.
I see lots of repo's on the market. Most of these are listed as repo's.
And...this is a gr8 way for non-collectors to get the look of old beads.
Mountain men love beads and they can get that Venetian look for way less then if thy bought antique beads.
It's the fools who advertise them as antique or ancient that screw things up.
Many sellers of beads expect the buyers to be able to tell the difference.
The more you know the better off you are....

I buy reproduction beads for a few reasons.
It helps me understand the market for repros and allows me to educate myself and sometimes others on how then can tell the difference.
Sometimes they can give clues on how the original beads were made (but sometimes also the opposite.....) and what they would have looked like in a new condition.

Finally, the fact that the whole of the history of beads is filled with copies, repros, fakes, etc, makes me think that these new beads are also part of that history and tradition. So many ancient glass beads are made to look like natural materials, many Venetian beads are inspired by ancient glass beads, etc.
The ones being made now are just another chapter.

I value copies and don't like to think of them as fakes but as "tributes"-
Even ancient beadmakers copied the items which were sought after and they loved- so it teaches us more about the history of tastes and customs, as well as often revealing their levels of technical skill, and whom they hoped to trade with.

it gets a bit ridiculous though when you find necklaces of plastic shells that aren't even rare...!
-says something about our civilisation...

But to answer the question...: no better way of learning, if you have the copy and the origin in hand

I don't consider high-quality "tribute" beads to be "repro" or imitation anything. They are collectible beads in their own right. What I don't collect is anything that pretends to be something else, though I now understand why others might do so.

Details, especially photos, about repro beads would be a great topic for publication. I encourage everyone in the bead collecting world to consider documenting their findings about repro’s as well as other bead topics for posterity, so to speak. It’s the best gift we can give to the collectors of the future. And I think print publication as well as digital is essential, for we don’t know if / how digital archives will survive. We do know printed materials have a track record of hundreds of years, at least, if not longer.
So sharpen your pencils and write it all down!

I have been publishing on the topic of imitations and reproductions since 1975.

My most-recent significant work was titled, “Mistaken Identity: The Misrepresentation of Beads in the Antiquities Marketplace,” International Bead And Beadwork Conference. Istanbul, Turkey. 2007.

JDA.

The proceedings of those conferences are very hard to get hold of, so the general Bead community can’t take advantage of them.

On my last attempt, they required me to send my credit card number via email, which I would not do as it is not a secure method of payment.

It is not obvious on the sites I found.

Thanks Jamey,

Nora

Write to are privately: jamey4beads@gmail.com

I still haven't succeeded in obtaining this article or the conference proceedings in which it supposedly was included. If anyone has a lead that would help, I would much appreciate the assistance.

Meaning to call you; I can help you with this….

Thanks Fred. We'll talk soon.

In my previous reply I gave you my eddress, and an opportunity to contact me.

"... supposedly included..."? Hmmmm....

I was the Coordinator for the Istanbul Bead Conference Seminar. I delivered two papers—both of which are published in the Proceedings.

JDA.

Hi Jamey, I did email you. Twice. I wonder, did I get your address wrong? I will try again. . .