Austrian Crystals are formed in areas of slow cooling molten
rock, and smaller crystals in areas of even more rapid cooling.
Different elements exposed to the crystal during formation,
such
as chrome, affect coloring.
The deposit is a hydrothermal vein in metamorphic
rocks;
the minerals of the vein crystallized from ions derived from
the alteration of the rocks cut by the vein. Veins of this sort are called Alpine veins, because they were first discoveredin the Alps,
but they are found in other mountain ranges as well.
Crystals are among the principal objects used to clear energy
blockages. The Ancient Chinese art of placement is called Feng Shui. For more than 100 Years Austrian Crystals have
been famous for their exceptional quality and clarity.
ALL ABOUT CRYSTAL
The buyer of crystal is at heart a collector, and understands
the importance of choosing heirloom quality.
TYPES OF CRYSTAL
Strass® Crystal
Strass® is manufactured in the Austrian Alps.
It is machine-cut and polished to achieve perfect optical
clarity,
razor-sharp faceting and unique purity and brilliance.
Lead content is in excess of 30 percent.
An invisible
coating makes Strass crystal easier to clean.
To protect buyers from imitations, the Strass® logo is engraved in
miniature
inside each crystal.
Venetian® Crystal
This crystal comes
from the historic glass-making region around Venice, Italy.
Venetian crystal is molded and fire-polished rather than cut,
which results in subtle luminosity rather than fiery brilliance.
Interior designers often prefer the antique look of Venetian
crystal.
The Venetians guarded their secrets of glassmaking with deadly seriousness, sending assassins after any artisan
who escaped from Murano, Italy.
Rock Crystal
Rock crystal is a natural
quartz prized by collectors since ancient times.
Wondrous fissures and mists, a million years in the forming, make each
crystal unique in the universe. The raw quartz is mined, not manufactured.
It cannot be mass-produced.
Skilled gemcutters
grind, cut and polish each rock crystal by hand.
Polishing one crystal to perfection might take a week.
Swarovski® Crystal
In 1908 Daniel Swarovski,
whose sons Wilhelm, Friedrich and Alfred had by now joined their father's company, began experimenting with the production
of crystal.
These experiments were conducted in a workshop specially constructed for the purpose, next to the family's
villa in Wattens.
In 1913 Swarovski began to produce its own crystal.
This
was an important milestone in the history of the company
and it took mass production to a new level.
They sold incredibly well to the Parisian fashion houses
and jewelers.
For this reason, Swarovski concentrated initially on the production of jewelry stones.
Waterford® Crystal
Waterford Crystal
started to blossom in 1783 when two brothers, George and William Penrose, founded their crystal manufacturing business in
the busy port of Waterford, Ireland.
Waterford Crystal today uses the same dedication to the purity
of color, to the same design inspiration and to the same pursuit of highest quality levels possible.
Waterford Crystal, today, is the Leading brand
of Premium Crystal and In November 2000, Waterford Crystal was named as the Top World Crystal with the highest quality out
of the 19 world class brands.
SOME OF THE MANY CRYSTAL COLORS!
Grey Agate |
Pink Agate |
Dark Amethyst |
Light Amethyst |
Carnelian |
Citrine |
Garnet |
Hematite |
Jade |
Moonstone |
Black |
Clear |
Rose Quartz |
Champagne Crystal |
Smokey Brown Crystal |
WHAT ARE CUBIC ZIRCONIA ALSO KNOWN AS CZ'S?
Cubic Zironia aka CZ's are laboratory grown stones.
Others
in the gemstones industry may use different terms to refer to laboratory grown gemstones.
Laboratory grown synthetic stones
have essentially the same appearance
and optical properties as the natural material that they represent.
