In article , vj
writes:

I go out of
my way to avoid glass from India, Turkey, and China. Those beads are
usually not annealed and are very weak and prone to cracking and
breakage.


Just a note: at least some of the Chinese beads seem to be OK. I have a couple
on an ID holder neckstrap-- they have been clanked together and against hard
surfaces, as well as dropped on cement, ceramic tile and blacktop for over a
year (maybe over 2 years...) and they are still intact. These are humungous
(30+mm) sized round beads with "painted" type designs on them (look like
Chinese brush paintings, but all done with glass). The smaller
"sputnik"/"Warring States" type beads also seem to hold up pretty well, judging
from unplanned bounce testing.
Kaytee
"Simplexities" on
www.eclecticbeadery.com
http://www.rubylane.com/shops/simplexities