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, notmanufactured.
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.
