Back To Most Recent Post

All the jewelry and trinkets listed in MOLECULE are handmade with love by me. I normally produce only 1 piece per design. Item which is mark as adopted means it has been sold. However, some design can be remake, kindly refer to :[ REMAKE POSSIBLE ]: . If you see something you like in Molecule and would like to adopt it, kindly send an email to me at molecule2u{at}gmail.com.
Click here for general guide on how to place and order.
To check out what is new and still available, click on :[ AVAILABLE ]:.

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Swarovski Crystal

I love to use Swarovski Crystal for my jewelry design. Out of curiosity, I search through the web to find out more about them. Sharing here are some of the knowledge I gain.

Founded by Daniel Swarovski in 1895 as a family business, it has since grow to a brand name today. They are the finest quality man-made crystal in the world as far as I know. Every single piece of crystal is so finely produce, its appearance and shimmering capabilities has the same characteristics as diamonds.

How Swarovski Crystals are made?

Man-made from natural minerals and pure quartz sand, they are combined and fired for an undisclosed period of time. Once removed from firing, they go through a very slow cooling process. The slow cooling process reduces flaws and imperfections in the final product.

These specialty crystals have a lead content of 32% which enables them to be categorized as full lead crystal. Lead was then added in order to maximize refraction, thus creating a better quality crystal. Chemical coatings are used to create the many different colors of the crystals. Clear crystals are more difficult to produce since they must be without impurities. Even though lead is a known toxin, the wearing of crystal jewelry containing lead does not pose any health risks.

The crystals are cut using a special cutting machine designed by Daniel Swarovski. This machine is able to cut crystals into as much as 100 mirrored facets in various directions. Hence, allowing light refraction to creating brilliant prisms and colors.

The direction of which the crystals are cut are determined by computer. They are cut using the same precision-cutting process in which diamonds are cut. Special metallic coatings may be painted on the crystals to capture a full spectrum of rainbow colors, and later polish to finish.

Reference:
How Is Swarovski Crystal Made?
By China Zmuida, eHow Editor

No comments:

Post a Comment

LinkWithin

Blog Widget by LinkWithin