Any type of cloudiness in the rhinestone is the mark of an inexpensive brand.įinally, contour refers to the consistency of the shape of the rhinestone. The rhinestone should be free from spots, streaks or bubbles. Generally, the more facets, the more expensive the rhinestone.Ĭhiefly, clarity is the lucidity or clearness of the rhinestone. Other rhinestone manufacturers cut between 8 and 12 facets into their rhinestones. Preciosa manufactures a rhinestone named Maxima with 15 facets. Swarovski makes a rhinestone with the most facets, 16 arranged in a star shape pattern called the Xirius. The more facets, the more light reflects and hence the rhinestone has more sparkle. Facets are the small plane surfaces cut into the rhinestone that reflect the light. Variations in color are the mark of cheaper rhinestones. The trueness and intensity of color must be the replicated throughout. However, within each color, the hue, tone, and saturation must be the same for consistency. Aurum, a gold rhinestone with a thin coating of 14k gold is the most expensive. Crystal or clear rhinestones are the least expensive. Although slightly different, rhinestones also have 4 C’s: color, cut, clarity, contour.Ĭhiefly, there are many different rhinestone colors and your color choice affects the price. The grade of each of these components helps determine the gem’s value. When shopping for expensive gems, jewelers recommend examining a specimen for the 4 C’s: color, cut, clarity, and carat. Rhinestones Quality is based on Color, Cut, Contour, and Clarity We’ll be glad to answer any questions you have regarding rhinestones. has a large selection of rhinestones at discount prices. Acrylic rhinestones are a great choice for children’s crafts because they’re lead-free and very inexpensive.Ĭonfused about some of the rhinestone choices? Rhinestones Etc. Formed from molds, acrylic rhinestones do have facets which produce some sparkle. These rhinestones are Asian machine cut rhinestones and they may be either crystal or glass.įinally, there are the acrylic rhinestones, the most inexpensive of all. Occasionally, you may see rhinestones listed as DMC or MC. Nevertheless, glass rhinestones typically are precision cut by machine. However, glass rhinestones do not have the prismatic quality of crystal. Similar to crystal, glass rhinestones have a coating to produce a shimmer in the rhinestone as well as facets. This means that both types of rhinestones are CPSIA compliant and are safe for use with children. Both companies have achieved this without losing any sparkle from the rhinestone. Because of the safety concerns with lead, Swarovski and Preciosa no longer use lead in making their crystal. The prismatic effect is the ability to take light and break it up similar to a prism. Primarily, crystal is glass mixed with lead or other components which make it clearer and prismatic. Rhinestones manufactured from crystal are the most expensive rhinestones. Typically, there are 3 main rhinestone types: crystal, glass or acrylic. While there are different brands of rhinestones, they all share some of the same characteristics. The Asian markets in particular, produce a large number of quality crystal rhinestones. Today, there are many other manufacturers of rhinestones in a wide variety of shapes and colors. Meanwhile, those individual companies in Bohemia eventually merged in 1948 to form the Preciosa brand. In 1895, he moved to Austria and opened his own manufacturing plant. This new machine cut crystal more precisely and quickly than by hand. One of these skilled craftsmen, Daniel Swarovski, patented an electric cutting machine. Individual skilled artisans honed their craft producing their version of rhinestones. Nonetheless, crafting rhinestones blossomed in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic. Cutting each rhinestone by hand was labor intensive. The novelty caught on although the imitations were still very expensive. He discovered that coating a piece of glass with metal powder created a shimmer in glass, similar to a gemstone. A French jeweler by the name of Georg Friedrich Strass developed imitation gems later called rhinestones. When this natural source became depleted, jewelers looked for a way to make them. The discovery of natural rhinestones along the Rhine River provided a supply for a time. So, jewelers sought out alternate cheaper sources to make sparkling jewelry at a lower cost. Generally, it was only the nobility or very rich who could afford to have jewelry made from precious stones. From earliest times, sparkling gems have captivated our attention.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |