Lac comes from insects - India is a source; shellac is its main use

Lacquer comes from the sap of a tree related to poison ivy - China, Japan; forms a polymer when oxidized in moist air, which takes time; applied in multiple thin layers, with up to a week drying curing time between layers

Rosin comes from distilling pine wood, southern China is a major source

Sealing wax is a mixture of rosin and lac dissolved with turpentine - melts when heated, can take a very crisp molded image

Favorite colorants include vermilion (mercury derived, thus poisonous), red lead (again, not something to ingest), iron oxide, lampblack, and other pigments to produce mustard yellow, green, turquoise etc.

One can find old 19th century recipes and manufacturing descriptions.

Taking a closer look at the various "cinnabar" beads kicking around in my boxes, with ages that seem to be from around the 1930s (the molded melted-looking ones) to the 1970s-80s (coated wood or cloisonne), what I think these beads are covered with is wax, not lacquer. Multiple coats, yes, but the carving and chippage looks waxy. Others are clearly molded, not carved at all.

More recent beads are clearly some sort of cast polymer plastic.

The most interesting beads seem to be ones such as pictured in the Susan Dods link: larger beads with a black outer coating with multiple red/green/black layers below. Carefully carved. I could be convinced these are actual lacquer.

First pic below show layers and waxy texture (darker beads are better carved), second pic shows stuff applied over a cloisonne body and then carved