Beaders use several quick tests to tell the difference between plastic and glass or stone. Most of us will click our teeth on a bead. Somehow the teeth know the difference between the hard "clink" of glass/crystal compared to the softer click of Tupperware. Some of the hard plastics are more difficult to determine.

There are several ways to distinguish glass from stone. Glass is cool when held to the cheek. Stone is usually colder than glass. Bubbles inside a bead indicate that it is glass. Stone can often be determined by looking at the bead holes. Since stones are drilled, the bead hole goes straight in with no lip or raised area around the hole. If there is a lip, a dip, or a raised area around the hole, the beads are glass. The exceptions to this are crystal glass beads which may also be drilled. A very clear and even color may indicate crystal. Stones often display irregular patterns of cloudiness.

Are The Beads Old Or New?

You have just bought a necklace and want to know if the glass beads are old or new. How can you tell? There are a few things which you can notice to give you a clue.

Style of the necklace and clasp: Something that may indicate a vintage piece is the style or the clasp. A hook with a beaded extender was used as a clasp in many multi-strand necklaces before 1970. Czech glass necklaces from 1930's or 1940's often had a brass spring ring clasp with the tongue of the ring acting as its own lever to open the ring. Earlier Czech glass may have a bead-shaped box clasp with a small wire "pushbutton" inserted in the bead. Barrel clasps were often used on older Italian pieces. If there is a chain extender and a lobster clasp, the piece is usually from after 1970. If the necklace has Swarovski crystal, some of the cuts or colors of crystal are distinctive and indicate the age of the jewelry.

Marks: Some marks indicate old. If the clasp or hook is marked Germany, the necklace was made prior to World War II. Post-war necklaces were marked Western Germany or West Germany. West Germany ended around 1990. The word Czecho or Czechoslovakia on a brass spring ring clasp usually indicates an older piece made between 1918 and 1938. Czechoslovakia did not exist until the end of World War I and it was taken over by Germany in 1938. You can check through a search engine on the internet to locate information on dates of brand name marks.

The condition of the beads: Look through a magnifying glass at the beads. Look for wear (scuffing, dullness, cracking or chipping, dirt) around the bead holes or on the surface of beads. Old glass sometimes shows crazing or stress marks outside or inside the beads. This can more easily be seen in light colored or clear glass. Small air bubbles that have "popped" open on the surface can indicate older glass. Over time, along the edges, crystal and glass can gain "fleabites" or eensy chips that can be seen under a magnifier. Green corrosion and worn metal indicates old.

The well-known aurora borealis finish was invented by Swarovski company and Christian Dior in the mid-50's. Beads with this finish cannot date any earlier than this. There were finishes that were used prior to this such as the pearl, pearlized, metallic, and luster finishes used by the Germans, Czechs, and Japanese.

Look at vintage bead sellers' websites, bead shows, and eBay auctions. Compare what you see for sale to any beads you have. Ask questions. The more you read and look, the easier it will become to recognize some manufacturers and the place or approximate date of manufacture.

How To Recognize Crystal Beads

There is a lot of confusion about what is crystal and what is not crystal. Modern Czech glass beads are often called crystal when in actuality they are fire-polished glass. There is a Czech cut crystal on the market but it is not as widely available as the glass. Vintage Czech or German beads can be either glass or crystal, but many sellers call almost any faceted bead "crystal" whether it is or not.

So how do you tell which is which? There is little way to tell the lead content by looking at a piece of glass or crystal. Crystal is usually prismatic and is sometimes heavier than glass, but that is not a definite guideline. The best way to recognize crystal is to look at a lot of it and notice the way it is cut. Swarovski Austrian crystal is one of the easiest to begin to recognize because their cuts are numbered and very uniform. The number #5000 Swarovski bead is a traditional round cut crystal.

Aurora Borealis finishes are used on crystal, glass, and plastic so you cannot use the finish as a strict guideline.

New crystal from China is increasingly entering the market. It is real crystal and pretty, but its lead content is relatively low - about 18% - compared to Swarovski's lead content of 38%. This means that it is not as sparkly clear or as heavy as Austrian crystal, but it has the advantage of being considerably cheaper. Buyers need to beware because not all sellers mention the source of their beads. It is a good idea to ask questions before paying a high price.

Anneal - The exterior of molten glass beads cools more quickly than the interior. This may cause the bead to shatter or even explode. Handmade glass is annealed in an oven that allows the temperature to cool at a set rate so that the glass is durable.

Aventurine - When this term is applied to glass, it means the gold sparkling powder that is found in or on some handmade beads. These inclusions may be formed of gold, copper, or chromic oxide. I have also heard this called lutz.

Cased or Encased - a term used to mean that a bead of glass was formed and then a layer of clear or transparent colored glass was wrapped around it.

Cast Glass - glass that has been poured in a mold or heated if already in the mold until it forms the shape of the mold.

Cats-Eye Beads - glass beads with a glow. The highest grade of cats-eye beads look as if each has a band around it that moves as the bead is turned.

Crystal - glass to which lead oxide has been added in the place of lime. Crystal can have differing amounts of lead from 18%-38%.

Cut - glass that has been sliced by hand or machine to give it facets.

Fire-Polished - glass that has been returned to the glass oven after it has been molded or cut. This process removes imperfections and gives glass beads a shine that mimics crystal. Firepolished crystals have more rounded edges to the facets than cut crystals due to the re-melting of the glass.

Foil Glass - pieces of shiny metal foil are used in a bead over which a translucent color is used. The most expensive foil beads use sterling and real gold foils.

Frit - tiny pieces of ground glass. A molten bead can be rolled in frit to give it a "sugar coating" or a speckled appearance.

Givre - a term for a clear or transparent colored glass bead into which a colored glass has been inserted. The color in givre beads makes irregular patterns in the beads.

Lampwork - a method used to make beads using a torch to form colors, shapes, and patterns with melted glass. Lampwork beads are handmade, unique works of art.

Luster - a shiny metallic effect on the surface of a bead.

Opal Glass - glass that has a cloudy effect and resembles an opal with an interior glow. Antique opal glass can be any color with an orange glow that is called "red". More modern forms of opal glass are bluish with a yellow glow.

Sommerso Beads - this type of bead has aventurine powder sprinkled inside and a color encased within a clear bead. Sommerso beads were first made by the Italians who still make some of the finest beads of this type.

Wedding Cake Beads - the original wedding cake beads were made in Italy, but there are some rather similar Czech beads and modern India glass ones. The "wedding cake" is composed of a design and flowers drizzled in colored glass on the outside of the beads, often accompanying a band of gold around the center.