COLLECTING KIFFA BEADS

One of the world's most beautiful beads, the Kiffa bead is also one of "the" most sought after by serious bead collectors! The main problems a collector faces are the ultra limited supply and the rampant "fakes" in our current marketplace. The "true", authentic, original Kiffa bead is very hard to find anywhere in the world. These beautiful beads originated in Mauritania, West Africa. Named after one of the towns where they were once made, Kiffa beads have a very limited written history, much of which is conjecture and assumption. To delve into the "real" history of the bead would be a daunting task for even the most seasoned researcher. The limited information available has been rehashed and regurgitated over and over again. The few persons having had contact with the bead makers and bead wearers at the time the beads were being made, have left practically all we know about these beads as mere chapters in only several volumes of books. I base most of my information on direct contact and physical observations of the actual beads themselves and I will leave the metaphysical hocus pocus to those that believe they know better.