I recently purchased a whole strand of newly made beads with dragged trail designs - in order to make a direct comparison to the Venetian versions. The seller was in Thailand and said the beads were from Afghanistan. I was wondering about this - does anyone know if there are glass works in Afghanistan making these types of beads? I was thinking it was more likely that the beads were made in India, but there is no tell-tale white mandrel release.
Anyway, in each of the pictures, the antique Venetian bead is on the right. WHen seen together, the differences in the beads are quite distinctive. But, I've seen some of the repros mixed in with old beads on the same strand and then it's more difficult to spot them. I'd say that the main feature to look for in repros is that the surface tends to be very uniformly etched, and the texture is unlike either old beads with light gloss or old beads with a matte finish. And you can see from the pictures that the old beads have a lot more irregularity and surface defects.
The first group shows three repros along side a Venetian bead. Diameter about 11-12 mm.
