A laboratory report answers what is this bead? It can also, in a separate part, offer an opinion on how good a bead is it? — and buyers should understand that these are different kinds of statement. Identity rests on measurement: a compartment count, a refractive index. Quality rests on judgement against conventions, and reasonable examiners can differ. This guide describes the conventions.
The features that are judged
Surface ornamentation. A fine bead has crisp, well-developed bumps and ridges over its whole surface, with no bald or worn patches. Coarse, bold ornamentation is prized on Himalayan beads; fine, intricate ornamentation on Indonesian.
Grooves. Deep, clearly defined, evenly spaced, continuous from pole to pole, with clean natural floors. Grooves that are shallow, uneven in depth or partly obscured lower the grade.
Form. Round beads are preferred to irregular ones; a symmetrical bead with its hole centred and its poles aligned is better than a lopsided one. Some forms (flattened, elongated) are characteristic of particular origins and are judged within that context.
Size. Larger is generally preferred for Himalayan beads. For a given mukhi, a large, well-formed specimen commands a premium over a small one.
Condition. Absence of cracks, insect holes, chips, repairs and heavy surface treatment. Light drying cracks are tolerated; structural cracks, filled holes and repairs lower the grade substantially. Wormholes, cracks and natural flaws.
Colour. Even, natural brown without stain or blotching. Very dark and very pale beads are both acceptable if the colour is natural and uniform.
Internal condition. On X-ray, well-formed chambers, sound walls, and seeds present in most chambers. A bead with cracked walls or a chaotic interior grades lower even if the count is confirmed.
Collector grade
The rare combination: a large, round, symmetrical bead with bold complete ornamentation, deep clean grooves from pole to pole, no cracks or holes, natural even colour, and a sound interior. In higher mukhi counts this combination is very uncommon, and collector-grade beads change hands at prices unrelated to the ordinary run.
Wearing grade
A genuine bead with the mukhi count confirmed, in sound enough condition to be strung and worn for years — minor surface flaws, some unevenness of form, light drying cracks, perhaps a chipped crown. The great majority of genuine beads are wearing grade, and for the purpose most buyers have, wearing grade is exactly right.
What grading is not
It is not a statement about authenticity. A collector-grade bead can be carved; a battered wearing-grade bead can be perfectly natural. Grade is assessed after identity is settled, never instead of it.
It is not a valuation. Grade influences price, but price is set by the market. A laboratory that quotes a price on an identification report is doing something other than testing. Why a report does not include a valuation.
It is not fixed. Two examiners can grade the same bead a step apart. Where a report offers a grade it should be labelled as an opinion.
Frequently asked questions
Does a laboratory always grade Rudraksha?
Not necessarily. The essential content of a report is identity — mukhi, compartments, natural or artificial faces, weight, size. Condition is described; a formal grade is offered by some laboratories and not others.
Is a wearing-grade bead inferior?
It is ordinary, which is what most genuine beads are. It is fully genuine and fully suitable for wearing. "Collector grade" describes rarity of form, not a different kind of bead.
Do surface treatments affect the grade?
Heavy polishing, staining and coating lower the grade because they alter or obscure the natural surface. Light oiling does not.
Can a cracked bead be collector grade?
Not with a structural crack. Fine drying cracks on an otherwise exceptional bead are a judgement call.
Is grading the same for Himalayan and Indonesian beads?
The criteria are the same; the standards are applied within each origin, since the two have different typical sizes and surface styles.