Crystal Beads

Crystal beads are made with glass of high lead oxide content. Although manmade, crystal beads are commonly used in jewelry making, as they provide a wide variety of color choices and beautiful light refraction at a relatively low price. Crystal beads are cut in the same manner as gemstone beads, which accounts for much of their price due to the labor involved.

Adding various chemicals to the glass creation process creates the colors. It is actually harder to make a perfectly clear or white crystal than it is to create a colored crystal, because of impurities in the glass making chemicals.

Crystal beads are often coated with reflective paint on all or part of the bead. This is known as AB or aurora borealis coating. When the coating covers the entire bead, it is called 2X. The Austrian crystal bead manufacturer, Swarovski, has given the various crystal coatings names based on the colors reflected, such as meridian blue, comet argent light, Sahara, hematite, vitrail, glacier blue, and aurum.

Crystal beads are often used as gemstone substitutes with great success. Swarovski crystal bead colors appropriate as birthstone substitutes for use in jewelry making follow:

• January - Siam
• February - Amethyst
• March - Aquamarine
• April - Crystal
• May - Emerald
• June - Light Amethyst
• July - Ruby
• August - Peridot
• September - Sapphire
• October - Rose
• November - Topaz
• December - Blue Zircon

We have separated our other crystal beads from the ones made by the Swarovski crystal factory in Austria into different categories on our web site to assure that our customers shopping for jewelry supplies can easily distinguish that not all the crystal we offer is Swarovski crystal. Swarovski crystal beads are cut with a precision edge that is not equaled by any other manufacturer. In jewelry making, these sharp edges can cut the bead stringing material. Consequently, when stringing crystal beads, it is a good idea to use thread that is very resistant to cutting, such as Fireline or Power Pro fishing line or Beadalon steel wire. SoftFlex is also a good stringing material for crystal beads. Another approach, a good idea, is to protect the thread with small smooth beads at each end of the crystal beads to prevent the thread from rubbing against the bead edges.

special care: Avoid impact or extreme temperature changes. In the case of coated cystal beads, avoid abrasion, as the coating will wear off.