Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Information about RhineStone


Rhinestone or paste is a diamond simulant made from rock crystal, glass or acrylic.


Originally, rhinestones were rock crystals gathered from the river Rhine. The availability was greatly increased when around 1775 the Alsatian jeweler Georg Friedrich Starss (de:Georg Friedrich Strass) had the idea to imitate diamonds by coating the lower side of glass with metal powder. Hence, rhinestones are called Strass in many European languages.



Rhinestones may be used as imitations of diamonds, and some manufacturers even capture the glistening effect that real diamonds have in the sun.



In 1955, the "Aurora Borealis" or "Aqua aura", a thin, vacuum-sputtered metallic coating applied to crystal stones to produce an iridescent effect, was introduced. Aurora Borealis tends to reflect whatever color is worn near it, and it is named after the Aurora Borealis atmospheric phenomenon, also known as the Northern Lights.



Typically, crystal rhinestones have been primarily used on costumes, apparel and jewelry. Crystal rhinestones are produced mainly in Austria by Swarovski and in Czech Republic by Preciosa.



The rhinestone-studded Nudie suit was invented by Nudie Cohn in the 1940s, an Americanization of the matador's "suit of lights". Liberal use of rhinestones used to be associated with country music singers, as well as with Elvis Presley and Liberace. Glen Campbell had a top 1975 hit with the song "Rhinestone Cowboy", and became known as the Rhinestone Cowboy. Today, custom Swarovski items are in high demand with both celebrities and fashion forward women. The rhinestones and other crystal items by Czech company Preciosa are being used in luxury costume jewellery from leading fashion brands. One may also find customized crystal rhinestone-inlaid items on Internet auction websites like eBay, such as cell phones, iPods and other mp3 players, earbuds, and flip flops.

2 comments:

masz14 said...

ere i can get this iron on rhinestones? tq! my email is m_kie at hotmail dot com. tq.

isya said...

hai anilsam..
u can order RSD direct from me. all the sample can c at http://isyacraft.fotopages.com . thank u.