A Guide To Rhinestones

Sunday, August 15th, 2010 | Jewelry Diamonds

Rhinestones are one of the most, if not the most, common form of stone that we see today in dress jewelry.  Although rhinestones may in general be considered as flashy but fake stones, this is actually far from the truth.  Some popular fashion designers and jewelers use rhinestones in their creations to create special effects. In reality rhinestones are all around us, every day, and we don’t even notice most of them.

The very first, true rhinestones came from the River Rhine in Germany and Austria, and were a kind of crystal.  Adding metal to the back of these crystals produced what is nowadays known as rhinestones.  The metal caused the crystals to reflect back the light, rather than allowing it through, making characters and a look which were very similar to diamonds. This made the type of rhinestones as we recognize them now.  

Almost a century later a way was developed and refined which allowed for cutting the crystals in a way that was both fast and effective in making them look like diamonds. Swarovski’s new development meant that high quality, nice looking rhinestones could simply be created in a short time and they became very common. Approximately this time rhinestones started to be made of glass, because the Rhine River crystals were in very dwindling supply.  

Crystal rhinestones are now relatively expensive due to their extra cost, and most dress jewelry rhinestones are made from glass or acrylic.  Glass rhinestones are usually cut into gemstone-like patterns before being finished and having a metal mount added to create the reflecting power. Acrylic rhinestones are even easier to make, as the acrlyic is simply poured into industrial size metal moulds and cooled to create the diamond patterns . All rhinestones nowadays come in one of 48 set sizes, from 1/12th of an inch to up to half an inch wide.

Today rhinestones are utilized very widely across all parts of the world.  In fact, apart from jewelry they are also employed in a huge variety of apparel and additions and many top fashion designers incorporate rhinestone buttons and accessories in their clothes.  One growing trend is adding rhinestones to normal apparel to provide an added unique impression and a feeling of class to daily clothes  

You do want to take care with your rhinestones however. In spite of their looks they are not as hard as diamonds.  In fact, both glass and plastic rhinestones can scrape and break quite simply.  They should always be stored carefully and not facing one another to avoid marks. Also, be very careful not to allow your rhinestones anywhere near water, as this can harm the metal and the bindings of the stones which can cause them to snap and wear out.


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