Consideration of socio-economic and technical factors which could contribute to a change in the style of decoration of glass beads during the last 300 years B.C. in Britain has provided some insights into the relation of glass chemical composition to glass production in the period. Although the concurrent introduction of new bead types and glass raw materials took place in the 2nd and 1st centuries B.C. when the 1st towns were emerging in western Europe, there is also an example of a type which continued to be produced visually unchanged, although using new raw materials. What seems to be evidenced is the juxtaposition of conservative and innovative traditions.