Impressions - March 2014 - 42

And rhinestones aren't the only option.
More subtle studs and nailheads are attractive alternatives with particular appeal
to the masculine market. (see "Stone and
Stud-speak")

A BRIEF BACKGROUND
The first rhinestones were crystals
that were collected on the banks of
Europe's Rhine River. Once the supply
of natural crystals became depleted in
the late 1700s, French jeweler George
Frederic Strass began coating the backs
of clear crystals with metal to create reflection through the stone. They became
even more sophisticated in 1891 when
Daniel Swarovski patented a machine to
cut facets into the crystals. To produce
crystal, lead oxide is added to glass, and
the lead reflects colors.
Today, Swarovski, a booming brand
and company, still makes the highestquality rhinestones in the world, having
very uniform height, width and slope.
It's important to note that the thing
that makes them the most beautiful
rhinestones - a lead content of more

than 30% - makes it difficult to sell
Swarovski-enhanced items to consumers
younger than 13 years old.
Preciosa stones, produced in the Czech
Republic, come closest to rivaling the
brilliance of Swarovski crystals. Preciosa
stones have much lower lead content than
Swarovski, making them lighter in weight.
The next best-quality stones are made
of glass and are from Korea. Glass stones
are the most popular stones used today,
partly because they cost less than crystal.
Also, because glass stones do not have
a high lead content, they are lighter in
weight, which makes full-coverage designs
more comfortable to wear. This low-lead
content also means these embellishments
can be sold to consumers of any age.
In China, rhinestones are made by
pouring glass into a mold. This can lead
to inferior stone quality because they
can take on improper shapes from the
mold. What should be sharp facets can
become more rounded, and the result is
poorly reflected light.
"Hot-fix" stones have special glue applied to the back. When heat is applied to

the stone, the glue liquefies; when it cools,
the glue hardens and permanently attaches
the stone to a substrate.
Higher-quality stones have a texture
on the bottom that helps the hot-fix glue
maintain the best adhesion. Chinese
stones usually don't have this texture,
which can allow the adhesive to dislodge
from the stone during wear.

APPLICATION METHODS
The methods for applying stones and
other heat-applied embellishments vary
widely - from simple, manual methods,
to template methods, to fully automated
bling transfer machines.
While a few crafty aficionados still use
permanent fabric glue, most blingers in
this category favor heat wands. With this
method, stones are held on a wand tip that
is specific to a particular stone size and
pressed onto the garment long enough to
melt the glue. Wands range in price from
about $30-$100, with the higher-end
wands equipped with a vacuum system
that helps speed up the process.
This is a time-consuming method,

Stones can be applied with
heat wands or "brushed" into a
template (below).

Rhinestones add glamour to an edgy design.

42

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