Beads of Paradise

On my lunch break today I dragged Mark to a bead store I had been meaning to check out for a while now.

Located in Union Square (New York City), the store is great for avid bead or antique collectors. However, it's not so fitting for those of us who just want to get our hands "dirty" looking for just the right component. In fact, you can't touch about 95 percent of the beads there as they are displayed behind glass.

Now, I totally understand why Beads of Paradise would want to showcase their items in this manner; many of the bead strands, findings, jewelry and even figurines they carry are a century or more old and worth quite a pretty penny.

I even saw Chinese trade beads in the window there from between 500 and 200 b.c.-- pretty fascinating for an archaeology-inspired nerd like me.

The store was a decent size for New York city bead stores, and all of the (oooh shiny) bead strands or tiny bowls of beads in its numerous glasses were extremely well organized. I'm sure had I asked for assistance I would have easily been able to get a handle on what I wanted to see, but I wasn't really going there to buy, more to "windowshop."

Bottom line: This place is great if you are looking for a certain item to add to your collection, or a even a unique and rare bead to start one, but if you just need your basic gems and components, stick to your local store where the items are more tangible and easier to study.