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Identifying beads

Material, perforation, and wear.

The material (glass, amber, faience, stone, bone) and the way the perforation was made are the first clues. Drilled holes taper or show rotary marks, and holes drilled from both ends meet — slightly off — in the middle.

Glass beads carry their manufacture on their surface: wound beads show spiral threads around the hole, drawn beads show stretched bubbles along it, and chevron beads reveal layered star patterns at the ends. Each technique is datable.

Wear around the string-hole confirms use — a sharp, crisp hole edge on a supposedly ancient bead invites doubt.

A single bead is honest but lonely evidence: many types were made for centuries and traded far. Record material, technique, dimensions, and hole wear, and resist dating one bead too precisely.

From the guide library inside Collectors Catalogues, a free app for cataloguing antiques and finds with honest, museum-grade records.

More on jewellery

Dating medieval brooches — Form, pin, and section are your clues.

Identifying brooch and fibula types — Spring, bow, and catch.

Identifying finger rings — Hoop, shoulders, and bezel.

Identifying cameos and intaglios — Carved in relief or sunk.

Identifying earrings — Hoops, pendants, and wires from four thousand years of pierced ears.

Identifying bracelets and bangles — Penannular gaps, snake heads, and twisted wire around the wrist.

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