How to identify antique beads

Antique beads are beads that are over 100 years old, usually outstanding with its aesthetic value or historical significance. Antique beads are rather rare today, and are mainly purchased by those bead collectors. Due to the demand for antique beads, today there are a lot of antique bead reproductions. How to identify real antique beads? Here are some tips.
1. Antique beads generally have bigger holes. Since the tools in the old days are not as sophisticated as they are today, it is difficult for craftsman to make small holes.
2. An exception of the principle above is the smaller 16-24 sized seed bead, which belongs to antique beads. Since it is rather small, it takes too much labor to make. Therefore, this kind of seed bead is no longer produced today, and all those found were made several centuries ago.
3. If you are looking at an antique bead made of metal, you should be able to find some aging traces, such as the change of color in some parts, or dents and scratches on the surface. This kind of signs is a strong evidence of being antique bead.
4. Apart from the surface of the antique beads, you should also pay attention to the holes of bead. If the holes show signs of being worn out by the strings, or being eroded, it is more likely to be an antique bead.
5. At last, due to the limit of the technology, beads of centuries ago are made certain materials only. You should learn about the basic materials used in antique beads, which will be helpful for you to identify them.
What have been offered above is only some tips to refer to. If you really want to collect antique beads, you had better learn more about their styles from pictures, and get familiar with them.