What gives Rhinestones there brillance?

Seems the addtion of lead is a large factor. And the number of cuts or facets.

"Rhinestones are made of glass. Fine rhinestones have lead added to the glass to produce Lead Crystal, far more light reflective than glass. Preciosa MC and Swarovski are made of Lead Crystal. Korean and Czech Extra Grade of made of glass and are less bright than either Preciosa MC or Swarovski. All Point Back rhinestones are of Lead Crystal. Such as these Swarovski Crystals show."



Flat Back rhinestones are made of : Lead Crystal, Glass, or Acrylic. (Please note: There is NO acrylic stone that is as bright as glass, and there is no glass rhinestone that is as bright as Lead Crystal.

Rhinestone Brilliance is derived from: Type of glass used (Lead Crystal is far more bright than glass) and the Cut of the rhinestone.

The CUT of the rhinestone greatly influences its brilliance! Purchase the rhinestone with cut in mind. Rhinestones with more facets will glimmer more than those cut with fewer facets, AND rhinestones cut with fewer facets will flash more than those cut with a higher number of facets.

We have found the perfect compromise to be 8-12 facets around the table (table is the flat top of the rhinestone). When more facets are added to the rhinestone, the reflected light is broken into more and more pieces, therefore each piece of reflected light is smaller. Understand that up close, the more facets a rhinestone has, the better it will look to your eye. BUT! The real test of a rhinestone is at a distance of intended viewing

Costumers design outfits that are showing at distances of greater than 4 feet. Here, in all cases, the 8-12 facet rhinestone will be superior in effect to rhinestones of higher cut facets.

Did you know that there are two kinds of Rhinestones?Flat and Point back.

Example of Point Back

Example of Flat Back



It is pretty simple really they are Point Back (Chaton) and Flat Back (Chaton Rose)
Most clothing decorations, today, are done with Flat Back rhinestones while most jewelry applications use Point Back rhinestones. The flat back is glued to the fabric therefore are used more while point back can be used they are more labor intensive because they have to be sewen on and cause puckering of the fabric. Flat backs are used in jewelry and are mounted with the paste method, they are also used on purses and other embellishments. Point back are set in jewelry with the prong set.

What are Rhinestones? We find many definintions sizes and colors

Rhinestones are artificial clear or colored stones made of glass. The best rhinestones are cut from quartz crystal. Natural crystals from the bottom of the river Rhine in Germany were early substitutes for diamonds. Hence the term Rhinestone. Some people also refer to them as crystals.

rhinestone - an artificial diamond; made of or encrusted with rhinestones

rhinestone - Real rhinestones are cut from rock crystal. Today, most rhinestones that are used in jewelry are made of glass that has the look of natural stone.

rhinestone - Simulated gemstone made of glass or crystal, often with a foiled backing for increased reflectivity. (This is a definition I rely on often when identifying them in jewelry)




rhinestone - A colorless potash-and-lead glass that contains quartz in the form of melted lead crystal and is cut like a diamond. Also called Strauss, diamante. (definitions from Google search)

Many of us think of Rhinestones as white, or clear like diamonds as shown in our example but there are literally a plethora of colors.

In addition Rhinestones come in many sizes: Here is a guide to help you out. In addition we learn (Rhinestone guy Inc) about Rhinestone Sizes: Rhinestones are measured in 'SS' (Stone Size) sizes, and jewels are measured in millimeters. All current rulers have an inch side and a Centimeter (CM) side on them. Each centimeter (CM) is divided into 10 units, and each unit is a millimeter (MM). Below is a table of sizes in MM. Please note: Smaller Point Bach Rhinestones are measured in PP (Pearl Plate), Flat Back and Larger Point Back Rhinestones are measured in SS (Stone Size