So many beads sold on the market today as vintage or antique simply or not.  How the bead was made, the type of glass used, the surface condition, the type of perforation, how the bead reacts to blacklight, the bead's measurements - all these things, and more, are considered when one looks at a bead and guesses its age and origin.  In fact, there are so many beads sold on the market today as genuine semi-precious or precious stone, when they are not.  Many are glass.  As a result, and even with glass beads, destructive testing may sometimes be necessary before one can be certain. So, how can you be sure you are buying a genuinely old and more valuable bead?

Know your seller.  Ask questions.  Read the books.  Collectible Beads, by Robert Liu, Beads of the World by Peter Francis, the Bead Timeline books by James Lankton, the books from the Picard Museum, and Magnificant Ancient Beads by Jamey Allen are excellent places to start. 

Check with the experts.  If I, for example, am unable to tell you about a bead, I will be honest about it.  There are a half dozen or so websites and chatrooms available, dedicated to discussing beads.  There is even one world wide bead identification database on which photos of certain beads are posted, along with detailed information about each.  Use your search engines to look for these sites. 

Finally, if you are a lampwound bead artist, please preserve our bead history for future generations by signing your beads.  Publish your signature mark or logo, so collectors will know this additional piece of information that will be help them when identifying modern beads in the future.  Obviously, someday, your beads may be copied by some manufacturer somewhere in the world.  But your signature mark will serve as one more point that can be used in bead identification. 

Best of luck collecting!