Vintage blue and white striped 3.5mm seed beads, 26-inch strand
3mm is equivalent to new size 8 seed beads
Because the colors and patina match many of the larger trade beads of the same vintage, antique seed beads are ideal spacers to use with them
Striped beads add an extra level of color and pattern complexity to your designs
New seed beads are less expensive than real antique or vintage ones. They are now being exported in bulk to Africa to be strung like old ones, and sometimes they are even "antiqued" with dirt and other substances.
You can tell old seed beads from new ones because they are less regular in size and shape, often more flat than rounded at the ends, and they are never bright and shiny, nor uniformly matte like acid etched or sandblasted beads. Instead they develop a naturally smooth semi-matte patina.
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