Crystal Costume Jewelry
Crystal costume jewelry conjures up many different images.the title covers such a wide variety of jewelry and it comes in all shapes and sizes.
The quality can vary widely, from the cheapest junk jewelry at a flea market, to beautifully handcrafted limited edition masterpieces, carefully crafted in precious and semi precious metals, combined with the most beautifully cut gemstones and select crystals.
Crystal costume jewelry can go in and out of fashion and it is not unusual for family heirloom pieces to be reworked into more modern settings, befitting the style or fashion of the day.
This may seem strange to some, who only consider jewelry with precious stones to deserve such treatment.
However, you may well be amazed to know that in reality, a gemstone crystal is a gemstone crystal.there really is no such thing as a precious or semi precious gemstone except for the definition that it has been given.
In fact, there are many gemstones considered semi precious, which are actually many times more expensive that diamonds!
When selecting crystal costume jewelry, what should you consider?
There are many considerations, but historically, the jewelry was selected to go with a particular outfit hence the name costume jewelry.
A fancy dress party would suit a cheaper item, but if you want to continue enjoying your jewelry for years to come, it is best to buy quality.
Quality can range from the type of metal used, to the quality of the gemstone and can include the manufacturing process.
For example, a cheap stone may not be a crystal, but be infact colored glass. The metal may look like sterling silver, but infact it is a far inferior blend of silver with a much higher percentage of another metal such as copper for example. The manufacturing process may be that the piece was cast in a casting machine, rather than hand made by an artisan.
At the more expensive end, you should expect to purchase a genuine crystal, however, dont be disappointed if the crystal was manufactured in a laboratory. Despite the fact it is man made, it bears all the qualities of a crystal, but the earth was not plundered to find it.
Obviously at the highest end, crystals are from within the earth and are graded accordingly.
When selecting a piece it is also important to consider the quality of the metal used. Silver is traditionally the most popular metal for
costume jewelry, however, not all silver can be considered the same.
Pure silver is 999.9% pure and it does not tarnish. However, this silver is too soft to be used in jewelry. Therefore it is combined with a harder metal, typically copper.
Copper gives the silver strength, but to be considered sterling silver, only 7.5% of copper by weight can be used.
Cheaper jewelry will use a far higher amount of copper, and you will see this in the fast rate at which the silver tarnishes. It also wont have the brilliance that is maintained by sterling silver the closest you can get to pure silver and still have the strength to hold a stone.
Lastly, if you are going for quality, ensure that the piece you are buying is handmade, not turned out by a casting machine.
by: Andrew Maughan
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