Video 1: Introduction to Himalayan Bowls

Since 1999, Himalayan Bowls has offered top quality genuine antique Tibetan singing bowls. Every antique singing bowl from Himalayan Bowls is individually hand chosen and authenticated by leading expert Joseph Feinstein, founder of Himalayan Bowls. Joseph travels to Asia to choose bowls in person. In 2008, Joseph partnered with the best singing bowl manufacturers and began offering new singing bowls. These bowls are of such high quality that we feel confident offering them alongside our fine antiques. Joseph hand chooses our Hand Hammered new singing bowls. These are the best new bowls made today and will be the fine antiques of tomorrow. Our line of Machine Made singing bowls are manufactured very consistently, so hand selection is not necessary - they all sound great. Himalayan Bowls grew out of Joseph's personal world-class collection of instruments and his personal passion to offer others the very best. Today Himalayan Bowls is home to the largest collection of singing bowls in the world.

Shopping Online

Himalayan Bowls was the first website to offer singing bowl sound clips in interactive galleries. Our high quality sound clips provide you with a convenient way to choose the singing bowl that you like. The sound clips are standard MP3 files and should play directly in most web browsers. Himalayan Bowls carefully chooses each singing bowl we offer to make sure you have a great sounding instrument in excellent condition. We never buy in bulk and never make exaggerated claims. Joseph's motto is "let the bowls speak for themselves."

Should I buy New or Antique?

Our Hand Hammered new bowls are the best available, but our fine antiques are still far superior. Our antique singing bowls have a warmth and beauty that can never be duplicated by new bowls. The aging process itself has a profound effect on the sound, so new bowls can never acheive the warmth and beauty of our fine antique singing bowls. However, our new Hand Hammered bowls do produce multiple harmonic overtones and a wide variety of pitches so they have most of the beneficial properties of the fine antiques. Buy a new bowl if price is a concern. Buy an antique if you want the warmest and most harmonious tone. New bowls are also less fragile than antiques.

Are singing bowls on the web New or Old?

For years sellers have been selling new singing bowls online calling them "old," "vintage," or even "antique" and "ancient." Beware of vague information like "very old," or "classic Tibetan." Some sites say "we choose not to date the bowls" or "singing bowls can't be dated." This is a sign that the dealer does not know how to accurately assess antiques. Beware of exaggerated claims of healing powers, chakra tones and numerical rating systems. These are clever selling techniques that do not accurately represent the complex nature of sound and the singing bowls.

I saw a bowl like one of your new bowls, but it was advertised as antique. How can I tell the difference?

Unfortunately, this happens all the time. I get emails almost every week from people who have purchased a new singing bowl thinking it was an antique. You have to be very careful shopping online. Many dealers sell new bowls and call them antique. Sometimes the bowls are 10 or 20 years old or are very dirty so dealers choose to call them "old," "vintage" or "antique." There are several copycat websites selling fakes at high prices. These dealers are not necessarily dishonest - many times they don't know the difference themselves. Unless you are an antique dealer and know how to assess antique bronze, you have to trust the reputation of the person you are buying from.

Antiques and new bowls alike are subject to many condition problems. Joseph travels to Asia to choose our bowls in person. This ensures the best quality and condition. Approximately 25% of all antique singing bowls are cracked. Another 25% have otherwise sub-par condition, such as excessive oxidation, cruddy build up, disfiguring scratches, etc. Of the remaining 50%, only a small percentage meet the strict criteria of exquisite sound quality to be chosen for Himalayan Bowls. I choose only the top 2% of the singing bowls I play. I pay extra to get first choice of the very best. Other dealers buy in bulk and get the broken, damaged and poor sounding bowls in the mix. Buyer beware - a cracked bowl may sound ok over the web or telephone.

-Best Quality: Himalayan Bowls is home to the largest and most comprehensive collection of singing bowls in the world. Thanks to Joseph's great skill at selecting fine instruments, our bowls are regarded as the best in the world. Every one of our singing bowls is chosen in the Himalayas for exquisite balanced tone, authentic age, and excellent condition. The quality literally speaks for itself!

-Top Expertise: Joseph Feinstein personally selects every antique and hand hammered new singing bowl we offer. A lifelong musician, singing bowl expert, accomplished voice and movement teacher and alternative healthcare provider, Joseph has been called the "best ear in the business." We supply bowls to enthusiasts, collectors and shops worldwide as well as to medical professionals, musicians, clergy and meditation teachers.

-Genuine Antiques: Himalayan Bowls offers genuine antique singing bowls. Every one of our antique singing bowls is more than 100 years old. Himalayan Bowls founder Joseph Feinstein is a leading expert in authenticating antique bronze. Joseph has years of experience handling thousands of bronze objects and is one of the only true singing bowl experts.

-Personal Service: Himalayan Bowls offers one-on-one customer service. Whether for yourself or a gift, we have the perfect bowl. Call Joseph directly at (415) 336-2884 to have all of your questions answered.

-Largest Selection: Himalayan Bowls has the largest collection and the best quality. We invite you to visit our extensive online galleries and see for yourself.

-Secure shopping: Himalayan Bowls partners with Authorize.net to process credit cards securely. Authorize.net is one of the largest and best secure online credit card processors. Payment can also be arranged through PayPal, cashier's check or money order. We do not accept personal checks.

-Satisfaction Guarantee: Singing bowls can be returned in original condition and carefully packed within 2 weeks from date of purchase. Please contact us before returning a bowl. Please insure returns for their full value. CD's are not returnable. Refunds are not given for MP3's. Returned singing bowls may be subject to a 10% restocking fee. Shipping fees are not refundable.