Hi everyone,

Thanks for all of the great replies to my inquiry about African Trade Beads.  Here's another one:  Where do you get your Tibetan beads and pendants for the best prices?  I'm not looking for Tibetan Silver.  I am looking for handmade beads from Tibet.  I especially like the ones with all of the inlaid gemstones.  I did a Google search and found quite a few.  Let's see, there's Happy Mango and Jewelry Supply (best prices so far).  I found quite a few vendors on Etsy that sell Tibetan beads and pendants.  I found a fantastic vendor on ebay called Nepalese Beads.  She has some of the most beautiful stuff I have seen and her prices aren't too bad.  (These types of beads are quite expensive to begin with.)  Oh, I also found this sight called (what else) TibetanBeads.com, but they have a $50.00 minimum purchase policy and I usually don't spend that much at one time (I wish I could, but I can't).  So, did I exhaust all of my possibilities or does anyone know of more out there?

Thanks in advance,

Laura

 Hi Laura,

 First let me remind everyone that nearly all stuff sold as "Tibetan silver" is NOT silver and does NOT come from Tibet. It is basemetal silver colored goods usually from China.

There is not a lot of Tibetan products coming directly out of Tibet because of the political situation with Tibet as a "province" of China. Most of the Tibetan style goods today come from refugee  communities in Nepal and northern India. Many "Fair Trade" stores and suppliers carry some selection of products from these communities. Ganesh Himal is one such "Fair Trade" supplier.

You listed many of the prominent jewelry and bead suppliers. There are others showing right now in Tucson and at various gem shows around the country. Pema Arts is the suppler behind TIbetanBeads.com you mention. They have several Tucson locations.

Hi Russ,

You never let me down.  When I started getting interested in these beautiful beads, I wasn't sure what the situation was because I kept seeing that Tibetan beads were coming out of Nepal.  To be honest, I wasn't even sure where these places were (shame on me).  I do not like to be ignorant about my interests so I did some research and learned of the terrible situation of the Tibetan people.  It makes me want to help them even more by buying their beads and bringing people's attention to the turmoil in their country(?).  Thank you for helping me to realize that there is not a lot of sources for this elaborate art.

Laura