Buying agarwood beads and jewellery

Agarwood beads, from a simple bracelet to a full 108-bead mala, are among the most widely sold agarwood products. They are also among the easiest to misrepresent, because dye, added oil or a pressed powder bead can make low-grade material look far more impressive than it is. Here is what to check.

What affects bead quality

Bead quality comes down to the same fundamentals as any agarwood: how much resin the wood holds, where it comes from, and whether it was wild or plantation grown, as covered in wild vs plantation agarwood. Resin makes wood denser and darker, so higher-resin beads tend to be heavier for their size and show more dark resin than low-resin beads. How the beads were made matters too: carved from solid wood, or pressed from powder and binder.

What genuine beads look like

Resin forms unevenly in the wood, so genuine beads usually show natural variation: darker resin streaks and patches mixed with lighter wood, and visible grain, rather than one flat colour all the way through. A matched strand will still vary a little from bead to bead.

Scent is another clue. Genuine agarwood beads usually carry a light, woody scent that becomes more noticeable when warmed between the hands. A strong perfume smell at room temperature, or a chemical note, is worth asking about. Agarwood beads, malas and tasbih covers bead counts, traditions and care.

Dyed, injected and pressed beads

• Dyed beads: plain or low-grade wood coloured dark to imitate resin. Dye tends to give flat, even colour. Researchers at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, examining suspected agarwood seized at the UK border, found pinewood that had been dyed and fragranced to pass as agarwood.
• Oil-treated beads: wood soaked or injected with agarwood oil or fragrance to add scent and weight. A strong perfume note that does not match the wood is a common clue.
• Pressed beads: agarwood powder mixed with a binder and moulded into beads. They can be sold honestly as pressed beads, but should not be passed off as carved from solid wood. They often look very even.

A bead that feels heavy but looks suspiciously uniform, or smells of perfume rather than wood, deserves a closer look. Soaking a bead in hot water to see if colour leaches out is one simple check, as covered in fake oud: what to look for.

Price expectations

Plantation agarwood bracelets are widely available at modest prices and are a reasonable, lower-risk way to start. Prices climb with resin content, bead size and count, and wild or prized origins, and the finest wild malas sell for many times the price of plantation bracelets. A 108-bead mala uses far more wood than a short bracelet of the same grade, so it will cost more for that reason alone. How much does agarwood cost? covers what drives agarwood prices.

Practical buying tips

• Ask whether the beads are carved or pressed, and whether they are dyed, oiled or scented.
• Ask for the origin, and whether the wood is wild or plantation grown.
• Ask for close-up photos of the actual strand in daylight, not a single polished product shot.
• Check bead size and count, since these affect price as much as grade.
• Treat a price far below comparable listings for the same claims as a reason to look closer.

Questions to ask before you buy oud has a fuller checklist.

Beads and CITES

All Aquilaria and Gyrinops species are listed in CITES Appendix II. Under CITES guidance, travellers may carry up to two sets of beads, prayer beads or bracelets as personal effects without a permit, but some countries apply stricter rules, so check before you travel. See agarwood and CITES explained.