Generally speaking, there are three kinds of dzi beads according to their density: Tibetan ruby dzi beads, fire-offering dzi beads and pure dzi beads. The first is the Tibetan Hongyu dzi beads, which are transparent from the inside out, but also the lowest density dzi beads; The second is the fire sacrifice dzi beads, which are denser than the saffron dzi beads, contain many cracks and are dark red; The third kind is pure dzi beads, which are the most dense dzi beads. Its surface is very delicate, but it is not transparent at all. Some pure dzi beads also have vermilion spots, which feel very good and moist as jade.
So, how was the dzi bead born? In fact, the dzi beads are made of ores mined by Tibetans through manual grinding, and its manufacturing process mainly includes the following steps: 1, and molding. Grinding agate into beads; 2. albinism. Whitening agate beads in dye, and the whitened agate beads are white; 3. draw flowers. Draw various patterns on the albino beads with anti-dye; 4. turn black. After painting, leave it for a period of time, let the resist agent on the beads air dry, then immerse it in alkaline dye to dye the beads for the second time, and finally the surface of the beads will appear black or brown; Step 5 bake. After blackening, put the beads for a moment, dry them, put them in charcoal fire, and take them out after the charcoal fire cools down; 6, grinding and polishing. After the beads are taken out of the charcoal fire, the surface of the beads is polished with a grinding tool; 7. punch holes. After the etching process is completed, holes can be punched in the bamboo, and then it can be circulated in the market.
In fact, most of the dzi beads circulating in the market are high imitation dzi beads, and even the dzi beads in Tibetan tourist attractions are rarely genuine, because the minerals of dzi beads, that is, the nine-eye stone shale, are really rare, which pushes up the price of dzi beads. Of course, another important reason why dzi beads are expensive is that dzi beads have certain historical and cultural value. In fact, as early as the Tang Dynasty, a dzi bead could be exchanged for more than 50 BMWs. In 2000, a dzi bead was unearthed in a Han tomb and later exhibited in a museum. Today, Tibetans can still use dzi beads to directly mortgage loans to banks, which shows the high value of dzi beads. It is worth mentioning that in 20 15, a nine-eyed dzi bead was sold in the market, and the transaction price was as high as 88 million.
In short, the reason why dzi beads are so expensive is mainly because they are very rare.