Most people know something about rhinestones or at any rate aware that they exist, if merely because of the song Rhinestone Cowboy!. Even though rhinestones may in general be regarded as flashy but fake stones, this is really far from the truth. Some fashionable fashion designers and jewelry makers use rhinestones in their creations to produce special effects. You’d be very amazed how many rhinestones you likely see on a daily basis without realizing it.
The first rhinestones were crystals which came from Germany, from the area of the River Rhine. Adding metal to the binding of these crystals made what is today known as rhinestones. The metal caused the crystals to reflect back the light, rather than letting it through, making characters and a look which were very similar to diamonds. This is how rhinestones were created.
Approximately 100 years later, another jewelry maker named Daniel Swarovski created a way to cut crystals quickly and simply to make them look more similar to gemstones. This provided high volume replication of rhinestones in a relatively fast time frame, and the popularity of them surged. The trouble was that the original crystals were rapidly running out, and so new ways were made to make imitation rhinestones.
Crystal rhinestones are now comparatively rare due to their extra cost, and most dress jewelry rhinestones are made from glass or acrylic. To produce rhinestones from glass, the glass is cut into diamond type shapes and then has the metal mount added to it. Acrylic rhinestones are usually made from plastic which had been put into diamond shaped moulds, with a straight back which has a metal mount attached to it. All rhinestones today come in one of 48 set sizes, from 1/14th of an inch to up to half an inch wide.
Rhinestones have now become one of the most common stones available. While they are still most ordinarily known as dress jewelry pieces, rhinestones these days are also utilized to produce rhinestone buttons, zippers, shoes and more. One new trend is adding rhinestones to regular apparel to give an added nice effect and a hint of class to daily garments
Rhinestones are still rather fragile though and delicate care needs to be taken with them. In spite of their looks they are not as hard as diamonds. In fact, both glass and acrylic rhinestones can mark and chip quite simply. They should always be stored carefully and not facing one another to avoid scrapes. The other golden rule with rhinestones is to keep them far away from liquid. If they get wet, it will frequently cause the metal backing to begin to rust or decay, and in older pieces it can even cause the stones to fall out of their settings.