If you enjoy making things out of beads you have probably run across lead crystal beads by a manufacturer named Swarovski. One thing that you might not know about these crystals is that they are 100% man-made, and are made following a secret formula. This is part of the reason that this company leads the industry in lead crystal beads, as well as other things made out of crystal. One thing that you should be aware of is that genuine lead crystal beads of good quality are going to be more expensive than other lead crystal beads, but in order to create the best work you should pay the extra expense and know what kinds of beads you are working with.
Here are some tips about things you should know about Swarovski crystal and other lead crystal beads.
Tip one:
There are actually no American standards regarding lead based crystal beads, but most of the world, the United States included follows the official British Standards that states lead crystal must contain 10% to 24% lead oxide and full lead crystal must contain 24% or more lead oxide and that fine crystal must conatin 6% to 10% lead oxide.
Tip two:
Another thing that is important to know about lead crystal beads is that in order to get the different colors of crystal chemicals rather than dyes are used. Clear crystal is harder to obtain because it must be free of impurities so that it is perfectly clear.
Tip three:
There is a type of glass bead that is most commonly confused with lead crystal beads. It is a Czech faceted fire polish bead that is made from glass. The glass is pressed into a mold to make the bead, roughly faceting it by hand or machine, then the surface of the bead is slightly melted to "fire polish" it which gives it a better luster. The "fire polish" actually rounds off the facets which makes it harder to identify it as a lead crystal bead.
Tip four:
Here are some ways to tell if the lead crystal beads you are buying are real Swarovski’s. By the way this company actually leads the industry in making lead crystal beads.
The facet edges, which are the corners where the points meet, should always line up perfectly.
Swarovski beads are never sold as a strung strand of beads, if they are being sold that way you should take a closer look at what you are buying.
Because these beads are machine cut you should take a close look to be sure that there are no variations in size or shape from bead to bead. Only hand cut beads will have different variations, machine cut beads are done in mass quantities on a machine that has pre-determined sizes programmed into the machine.
Swarovski lead crystal beads sparkle more than other types of beads. You can easily tell the difference if you hold an original and a fake up into the light together.
You shouldn’t see any type of flaw in the finish, by flaw we mean any type of swirls; the sheen should be uniform with no imperfections.
The swan logo of Swarovski is only used for their created jewelry; it is not used for their beads and components.
There shouldn’t be any visible bubbles in the beads
The Swarovski crystal bead will have a thinner rim and will be more translucent in the fatter area; you can see this by taking the beads into a bright light and looking down at them so that you can see the hole in the center of the bead.