Friday, December 14, 2012

Sparkling information!!

I love sparkles, it makes ordinary things special. So many times customers will walk into the store, look at something with rhinestones and say " I never go anywhere special" and keep on looking. We tell them to try mixing it up with ordinary pieces or just adding a piece to a plain t and some jeans. People should not be intimidated by sparkle! Sometimes a little sparkle can just make you feel a little special and honestly, it looks like a million!
I started wondering what all rhinestones were, I knew about crystals from Austria, but what else could I find out about them? I have been in this biz for a long time and I really learned a lot about rhinestones, so I thought I would share.
One question that most customers have is;
What does ‘AB’ mean?

AB stands for Aurora Boreale; a special coating that is applied to the surface of a glass stone or bead to produces a very light rainbow effect that leans toward a pale yellow tone, but also shimmers in pink and blue. This coating is most effective on Crystal stones but also gives a beautiful depth and hue to other colors. When applied on a color stone, it changes the color just slightly and gives it a rainbow effect.

A question I had was why are they called rhinestones?

The Rhine in rhinestone is the Rhine River, and rhinestone is a translation into English of the French phrase caillou du Rhin. Originally a rhinestone was a kind of rock crystal that was found in or near the Rhine. Other types of rock crystal, such as Cornish diamond, were given similar fancy names. Because rhinestones could be made to imitate diamonds, the name rhinestone was applied to artificial gems made from paste, glass, or gem quartz and as a result often carries a connotation of showbiz glitz. Rhinestones are usually chatons with no hole and a foil back to increase reflectivity. Leave it to the French! Ooh la la!

One last questioning inquiry lead me to this little nugget or information! To clean rhinestones simply use alcohol ( rubbing alcohol, for Pete sake, don't waste the vodka!) on a q tip. Avoid getting water on rhinestones as water will tarnish the foil on the back of the stones.

I hope you found this interesting and maybe helpful. Ck back for more tips!

Lyn-Maree's
129 E 9th Street
Downtown Auburn, IN

www.lyn-marees.com
lynmarees@gmail.com

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