Monday, June 18, 2012

Crystal Gifts

#1. Crystal Gifts

Crystal Gifts

A piece of jewelry that sparkles and shines is a delight to every woman's eyes. Jewelry comes in many forms and materials. There is jewelry that is made of pure gold and silver and there is also jewelry that is made of glass, crystals, semi-precious stones and other natural materials.

Crystal Gifts

I am all the time fascinated with fashion jewelry, trinkets and stuff made of crystals especially necklaces, earrings and swarovski crystal brooches. After I graduated from college, I used to make fashion jewelry made of crystals as a hobby. My favorite things to do are crystal brooches, earrings and pendants. I went into every bead supplies shop I know just to find the finest materials I can use for my jewelry-making hobby. After trying distinct kinds of beads and using distinct beading materials, I placed myself with crystals.

When buying jewelry made of crystals, you have to remember that there are distinct facets, cuts, shapes, colors and looks of crystals. There are also crystals that have Ab (Aurora Borealis) coating. This coating is often applied to one side of a crystal bead to accentuate the light-scattering properties. The Ab coating looks metallic and opaque from the side it is covering but on a transparent crystal bead, the color and brightness of the sparkle shows straight through strongly when the bead is seen from the other side.

Crystals also come in some qualities and their facets also vary. Also remember that some of the best crystal beads are hand-faceted. Based on my jewelry-making experience, I learned that crystals have distinct cuts and shapes. The ones I know are:

1. Triangle-Cut - this cut is more angular and has fewer facets but it reflects light very strongly and looks very appealing when worn.
2. Hexagon-Cut - this is a coarse cut for the round variant of crystal beads. This type of crystal bead is sometimes opaque; it is reflective but not translucent.
3. Diamond-Cut - I have some shapes of diamond-cut crystals like round and upholstery shapes. Both have brilliant facets but their shapes are different.
4. Bicone - there are bicones that are penetrative but there are also bicones that are Ab coated. Among my beads, this is my most favorite because of its brilliant shape.

Of course, aside from the ones I mentioned, there are also other cuts and shapes of crystals but what I know and am all the time using are triangle cut, hexagon cut, brilliant cut and also bicone. If you are still new to beading, these types of crystal are very easy to match with other beads and beading materials; I love them because I can make gorgeous and elegant beaded crystal jewelry without compromising my budget.

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