Amore Jeweller

What is the difference between rhinestone jewelry and crystal jewelry?  The terms are often interchanged leaving shopkeepers as well as customers confused.  When we look back at vintage rhinestone jewelry before 1940 we see a noticeable change.  The look is quite different than we equate with rhinestone jewelry today. 

RHINESTONE JEWELRY

What changed?  Well today’s rhinestone jewelry is usually made with rhinestone chainthat is a continuous chain of rhinestone that comes out of a machine with the stones already set.  This look is conspicuously missing in the vintage rhinestone jewelry books that cover any era before the 1940s.  The reason is the invention of the machine that creates rhinestone chain occurred in Providence, Rhode Island during the forties, the same time America was involved in World War II and saw the rationing of many metals.   

The appearance of rhinestone jewelry made from rhinestone chain begins after the War and this is the look that we call rhinestone jewelry today.  Machines produced rhinestone chain with stones mechanically set that would roll out continuously and was wound on spools.  Designers would buy the spools and develop new designs by cutting and soldering the rhinestone chain.  When we talk about rhinestone jewelry today, this is the look that comes to mind. 

CRYSTAL JEWELRY

Now look at a vintage jewelry book showing rhinestone before the forties.  The look is gorgeous, but very different.  Designers created rings, brooches, bracelets, necklaces and earrings with glued in or prong set stones.   The most fabulous designs began appearing in the 1930s introducing an era that continued to the 1960s called The Golden Age of Costume Jewelry.  

Legendary costume jewelry houses put their name on fabulous designs and these pieces are collector items today.  The era produced greats like Eisenberg, Haskell, Coro, Juliana, Dior, and Trifari.  Inspirations from these design houses continue in fashion jewelry today, but we usually refer to this look as crystal jewelry and jewelry made with rhinestone chain as rhinestone jewelry. 

TYPES OF RHINESTONE AND CRYSTAL JEWELRY

Are the stones different?  Actually, they are not.  The quality leader in crystal stones is Swarovski, and they produce rhinestone chain as well with the same process.  What sets Swarovski apart?  First, they were the pioneer in perfecting machine cut faceted stones.  In addition, Swarovski perfected the lead crystal process according to   with a finished product that is “32% lead, making the crystal optically pure”.  Don’t worry; this lead is not going to release and in any way cause harm to health.  Lead crystal is exempt from the lead content rulings. 

Czech crystals are another source of crystals that are also used in rhinestone chain.  The sparkle and perfection may be a small step below, but the price is cheaper and these stones get more use than the higher priced Swarovski crystals because consumers are very price conscious today.  

The third option, used extensively in rhinestone or crystal jewelry from China, is Mideast stones.  Sourced from the Mideast from countries like Dubai, Turkey, and the United Arab Emirates, these rhinestones have high radiance, but dull over time quicker than Czech stones.  Mid Eastern stones are a favorite in Chinese manufacturing because they have eye-catching brilliance at a cheaper price than Czech or Austrian crystals. 

Finally, Chinese stones are becoming a greater player in rhinestone and crystal jewelry.  At first, the stones didn’t provide the quality for sparkling jewelry, but quality is improving for some manufacturers.  Those with a keen insight to the market can save money with high quality Chinese rhinestone and crystal, but inferior quality is still in the market from lower end manufacturers. 

So the bottom line is rhinestone and crystals are the same stone.  The difference is when and how the jewelry is made. Before World War II, the terms are interchangeable because rhinestone chain didn’t exist.   After the War rhinestone is more often applied to jewelry made with the chain while crystal usually refers to glued-in or prong set stones that are individually set.