What is the difference between a half coating and a full coating?
This term applies to many coatings, but most the popular one is the AB coating.  A half coating is referred to as 'AB'.  This is where half of the object is coated, leaving the other half to show purely the original colour of the crystal bead underneath.  A full coating is referred to as 'AB2x'.  This is where the coating is applied all over the object, thus giving an all over AB effect with the base crystal colour coming through in a more muted colour.

What is full lead crystal?
Full lead crystal is the finest man-made crystal because it's high lead oxide content serves to enhance its colour spectrum.  The production of full lead crystal begins by combining proportionate amounts of quartz sand, soad, potash and lead oxide, which are subjected to extremely high heat until molten.  Crystal is not considered 'full lead crystal' until the lead oxide content goes above 30%.

So if it contains "lead" is it dangerous?
No, as the lead cannot 'come out' of the crystal.

Tell me about that laser etched logo of the swan or 'Strass signature' that people talk about...

Swarovski have many brands within the brand 'Swarovski', namely, Strass, Spectra, Elements, Atelier, Swareflex, Crystallized and many more. Only articles from the Swarovski Strass range carry this permanent Strass signature, which is a laser etching inside the crystal...but there are exceptions. Anything that is Strass, but clear crystal and sized less than 12mm, and anything that is Strass but is coloured crystal and sized less than 18mm do not have the logo at all. Anything in the Strass range that is the colour Bordeaux, Jet or Emerald also do not have the logo at all. The Strass signature is represented in line drawings of Strass elements by a red dot.

So, there are thousands of crystal products and applications that Swarovski manufacture that will never have anything to do with the relatively small Strass brand and it's logo, yet are entirely Swarovski.

What does the Swarovski Strass signature look like?

A little emblem that looks a little like a ladder or a ziggurat (a representation of the different line breaks between the spectrum of colours, in a rhomboid shape frame. It's tiny - like about 1mm in total, and sits inside the actual crystal. Fascinating to see in real life. In the past, since Swarovski began laser engraving in the 60's, the swan logo has also used.

Why all the names 'Crystallized Swarovski Elements', 'Spectra', 'Strass', 'Viva12' and 'Xilion'!  I'm confused!?
These are all registered brand names for different lead crystal product ranges produced by the companies we deal with. 

How do I know your products are genuine?
These days most Preciosa and Swarovski products come from their factories in sealed packets so if you buy a factory packing quantity, chances are it will come to you as an original sealed unit. If you're purchasing less than a factory unit then obviously we have to break the seal to open the packet and once this is done there is no way we can 'prove' to you that our products are genuine. However we are highly regarded suppliers who have an extremely high reputation to uphold and it would be rather silly of us to try and pass off other products as genuine Swarovski or genuine Preciosa if they weren't. 

I could include some wrappers, we throw out dozens every week, but please be aware that opened packaging alone does not provide proof of authenticity, nor will it provide proof to your clients.  It's simply packaging.  Also, the silver holographic logo which was used to seal the old silver Swarovski packaging, was phased out in their most recent Cream packaging release.  The swan logo still exists but in a tiny 3mm size picture, no silver type logo or 'sticker' look like it used to have.  You could contact Swarovski yourself and check that this is fact.

Providing a form of certification for loose components is not possible; even Swarovski and Preciosa themselves do not provide this to any stockists worldwide.  I guess it would be impratical for them to provide this for every single component produced when you think about all the secondary stockists such as all the bead shops that we sell to.  And then what about the bead shops that sell to onsellers who sell to onsellers?

More recently, Swarovski started producting Xilion facetted beads and have patented the design to stop other manufacturers copying the cut and passing it off as Swarovski.

The best way you can guarantee you are buying a genuine product is to buy through a reputable seller.

I'm not sure what colour I need. Do you send out samples?
Individual photos of products on our site give a good indication however browser colours are not always accurate. If perfect colour matching is important we have both rhinestone cards and bead sample boards available. Many clients refer to these as they create their projects, or plan for new ones. Most items available form us at Rhinestonz & Beads are available for purchase in individual units, so there is often no need to outlay too much in order to see a small range of colours to then choose from for your project. We are also very experienced in discussing colours and fabrics, and other gemstone colours, over the phone, so if in doubt, please don't hesitate to contact one of our team to talk about your ideas.

I'm just starting out making jewellery. What are the most important items I could have in my tool kit and findings?

Here's our list of 12 SUPER-USEFULS for the kind of jewellery making that involves basic stringing techniques for necklace and bracelet designs, and simple earring structures...
1. Pliers x 4 (Long thin flat-nosed, Long thin rounded nose, Crimping, & Cutting pliers)
2. '49 Strand' stringing wire in .018" gauge
3. Crimps or crimp tubes
4. Crimp Covers (to keep your work tidy and hide the crimp)
5. Lobster clasps (to connect the bracelet or necklace ends)
6. Closed rings (small rings that are useful in many ways)
7. Open rings (small rings that are openable, and useful in so many ways)
8. Bead bumpers (tiny rubber bumpers that can space your beads along the stringing wire, thus protecting from abrasion)
9. Bails for pendants (so you can hang top-drilled pendants in the right direction, off chain or stringing wire, or earring posts/hooks)
10. Headpins (for stacking beads on to make your own pendants and droppers - great for easy earrings)
11. Eyepins (again, as for headpins, but with the added bonus of a ring at the bottom, so you can link other headpins or eyepins to it).
12. Earwires/hooks/studs

About our Services

Do you have a shop, can I pick up?
We are an internet / web based business and have no showroom where you can view products or uplift purchases sorry.

Do you have a printed price list?
We've tried to in the past but constant new additions and price changes make it impractical. We hope to have a downloadable price list in PDF format available through this site in the future. Good things take time.

I can't get through to the checkout - what am I doing wrong?
Absolutely nothing - Perhaps you're on a network that doesn't allow access for security reasons, or if you're on a PC then it's probably just the version of IE you're running.
Our website has been designed using the very latest technology and unfortunately this does not support some older versions of IE, specially if you haven't installed all the subsequent IE patches provided by Microsoft. A way around this is to install Firefox as your preferred browser.

Definitions of Matte, Translucent, Opaque, Transparent & Metallic

Matte: not glossy or shiny, dull surface qualities (like Light Siam Matte)

Translucent: semi-transparent, so can see through it a little (like White Opal)

Opaque: can't see through it at all (like Jet)

Transparent: can see through it easily (like clear crystal beads)

Metallic: coated with a metal coating, and gives the appearance of being a piece of metal, like gold (Aurum) or Silver (like Labrador or Comet Argent Light)

What is sterling silver, base metal, silver plating and surgical steel?

Pure silver is too soft so to make sterling silver it is alloyed with copper, usually, in proportions of 92.5% silver, and 7.5% copper for strength. Hence the industry standard of stamping sterling silver as ".925" where possible.

Silver plating refers to a metal being applied to a conductive surface, in most case, silver applied to base metal.

Base metal is a catch-all term in the jewelry industry for metals used in costume jewelry. In metal working, base metal is any metal that is not one the noble or precious metals. The term precious metals usually means platinum, gold or silver. Examples of base metals include iron, steel (an alloy of iron and other metals), copper, brass (an alloy of copper and other metals), nickel, lead and tin.

Surgical stainless steel is a type of stainless steel, which is usually used in medical applications, hence the term 'surgical'. It is easily cleaned and sterilised, scratch-resistant and corrosion resistant.