(sigh) Just lost the entire post, trying again....

So I started with bright copper beads (upper right hand corner, the little rondelles), which are way too bright for the 'ancient and well-worn' aesthetic for most of my work.

The long oval beads in the lower left corner I soaked for a few seconds in a liver of sulphur gel (a drop in a container of water.) It all turned black almost instantly. It was hard to sand off, so I used a JAX solution for cleaning copper and brass beads, restoring it back to bright copper. Next, I tried a JAX browning solution. Though not as dark as the liver of sulphur gel, it was still too dark (and consistent in tone.) I tried to heat the beads--some of the brown patina came off, but not much. So then I sanded them to this finish. I like it, though I don't think it 'reads' as copper.

Then I did the smaller oval beads in the lower right corner. I just used the JAX browning solution, skipping the liver of sulphur step. Then heated them, and sanded them.

Last, I tried the suggestion someone sent me, using a very small amount of JAX and more water. This slowed down the process considerably, though I still had a satisfying shade within a few minutes. I haven't heated these nor sanded them. I think they might work!

Next time, I'm going to try the JAX green patina solution. But not on the 2mm copper beads! Too many, too small--maybe I'll order more of the bigger copper beads and go from there.

Thanks again to everyone who made suggestions!!