There are many types of crystals used in wedding jewellery so sometimes when people refer to crystal jewellery they could be referring to one of two things, Diamante jewellery (sometimes spelt diamonte) and crystal jewellery which has been handmade with crystal beads and components.
Diamante jewellery can be bought from many places such as accessories shop in your local town or from online stores. If you find that you can buy a diamante necklace for less than £10 you're probably buying fake diamantes. You'll find that in many places what are passed off as diamante stones are actually acrylic and lack the transparency or sparkle of higher quality glass or crystal.
Quality diamantes are created from facetted glass or crystal which helps reflect the light plus a backing of a metallic material which is usually silver. It is both of these properties that makes diamante jewellery so sparkly. Diamante stones also usually have their backs encased in a metal surround such as gold or silver plating. Diamantes are available in many different colours as they are man made but most diamante wedding jewellery will be clear in colour.
There are a number of different diamante stones such as Swarovski diamantes which are sometimes called rhinestones. These are the most sort-after diamante due to their high quality. Czech crystals are also used in manufacturing diamantes, they are exceptional quality and the difference between these and the Swarovski diamante are minimal. Even diamantes created from Austrian glass or crystal have exceptional sparkle and make an excellent alternative to Swarovski diamantes.
True Crystal jewellery is created from crystal beads, sometimes the shop will state who is the manufacturer or county of origin, sometimes they will just be called "crystals". If you find that the seller is just referring to them as "crystals" ask specifically which type they are as sparkle and shine differs with each brand or type.
If you can afford them and want maximum sparkle then Swarovski crystals are deemed to be the highest quality. This is due to their higher lead content and their ability to precision cut each crystal to ensure the optimal facet angles for shine and sparkle.
If price is more of an issue then Czech crystals might be more for you, while they are not as sparkly as Swarovski crystals, their quality is quite high and unless you look closely only other jewellery professionals will be able to tell the difference. The reason they aren't as sparkly is down to their cut which is not as precise as the Swarovski crystals and their lower lead content, making them less reflective.
I've also come across Austrian crystal beads and while their Austrian crystal diamantes (see above) are good quality the beads that I've had the misfortune to come across have been milky and dull in nature, they still have sparkle but look inexpensive.
I hope I've given you enough information about crystal wedding jewellery to enable you to make the right choice. Remember if you have and questions about choosing your bridal accessories you can contact me at the site Wedding And Gems.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kerrie_Giles
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