In the last 20 years ‘new’ dZi beads have been made in China and Taiwan. These are what I consider to be ‘real’ etched agates, made in (probably) much the same way as the ancient dZi beads. Though I feel these are ‘true’ dZi beads (as opposed to mock dZi beads made of bone, glass or resin) and see them as desirable and collectible for what they are, they are nowhere near as valuable as ancient dZi. Tiger-Tiger.com will never misrepresent these as being anything other than a nicely made new bead.
Tibetan Beads.
Notwithstanding the above, the dZi bead has come to be commonly accepted as a ‘Tibetan’ bead, and Tibetans have become the world’s experts on these fascinating beads. Tibetans evaluate the purity of a bead by many criteria, such as good contrast, desirable patterning, symmetrical shape and strong color.
