The Dazzling Rhinestone
Rhinestones have a glittering past. Originally rhinestones
where referred to Czechoslovakian or Bohemian glass dating as
far back as the 13th century in Bohemia and the Czech Republic.
Both have a history steeped in beautiful hand blown glass as
well as molded and cut glass. By 1918 glass was no longer
limited to functional items. Czechoslovakian glass began to make
its appearance in dazzling and brilliant jewelry. This Czech
glass became known as rhinestones. Rhinestones were manmade gems
from highly refined glass. By using various metals the glass was
colored to the desired shade. It was then pressed into molds.
Each stone was then ground and polished by machine, resulting in
a brilliant glass stone. Often the stones were foiled on the
back which increased their brilliance. Today, the same refining
process is still used. You will often here rhinestones referred
to as paste. Originally paste was referred to a glass stone that
made of ground glass which was molded and then melted, producing
an opaque dense glass frosted stone. Paste had many air bubbles
and swirl marks. The high lead content glass was then polished
and faceted, and set on either copper or silver resulting in a
brilliant stone. Today the term paste usually refers to
rhinestones. In Europe rhinestones are often referred to as
paste, strass, and diamante. Austria is another area with a
history in rhinestone production. In 1891 Daniel Swarovski
created a new glass cutting machine which quite literally
revolutionized the jewelry business. This machine could cut
faceted glass, producing finely finished product in a very short
time. Prior to this invention it would take a very long time for
each stone to be hand cut and finished. Swarovski