kasue
|
posted on July 17, 2004 02:35:27 PM new
That is the difference between a rhinestone and "paste"? Surely not all rhinestones are prong set, are they?
|
Libra63
|
posted on July 17, 2004 04:38:49 PM new
No they are not. The paste they are referring to are the ones that have to be pasted in.
Some buyers don't like jewelry that have their rhinestones pasted in because some glues make the stones turn color. Kind of a cloudy yellow.
|
kasue
|
posted on July 17, 2004 04:57:56 PM new
As long as they are glued in and not prong set, doesn't it matter how old the piece is, is it still called "paste"?
|
ladyjewels2000
|
posted on July 17, 2004 05:52:37 PM new
Libra63 are you sure about that? I have seen the term used mostly with Victorian jewelry and alway thought it was a higher quality stone or a different composition than rhinestone? But then I never really understood or could anyone explain what the difference was so perhaps you are correct???
While we're at it - what about a brilliants as listed in books on Victorian pieces - is that r/s or diamond?
|
kiara
|
posted on July 17, 2004 05:59:19 PM new
Paste is clear or colored glass that is cut and faceted to look like real gemstones.
Rhinestones are highly reflective glass made to imitate gemstones. The original rhinestones were quartz stones (rock crystal) obtained from the Rhine river. These stones were cut to resemble gemstones. The best rhinestones today are made of highly reflective leaded glass which is faceted and polished.
http://www.allaboutjewels.com/jewel/glossary/indexr.shtml
[ edited by kiara on Jul 17, 2004 06:00 PM ]
|
kasue
|
posted on July 17, 2004 06:39:49 PM new
I guess I am still confused. I read both descriptions from that site (thank you! I saved the link), and they sound an awful lot alike. What am I missing? The quality of the glass is different? Are rhinestones also glued in at times? How can you tell the difference? I have handled lots of rhinestones and finally figured out that some apparently are called "paste". But only because something on Ebay greatly resembled something that I have. Do I rely on the style of mounting?
|
kiara
|
posted on July 17, 2004 06:47:20 PM new
Hi kasue,
I don't think there is much difference except that rhinestones are clear glass and quality can vary. They can be glued in or prong set.
Here is more info on rhinestones.
http://www.rhinestonesu.com/RhinestoneStory.htm
There is another jewelry glossary here and it also has a definition for paste and rhinestones.
http://www.cooljools.com/Glossary.htm
[ edited by kiara on Jul 17, 2004 06:49 PM ]
|
zircon4
|
posted on July 17, 2004 07:06:44 PM new
You beat me to it Kiara 
Sometimes they are foil backed as well to enhance the reflective properties. It is an effective way to make a stone that is too shallow still reflect light properly.
Regards,
Adrian
|
kiara
|
posted on July 17, 2004 07:25:42 PM new
Hi zircon, I was wondering if you'd show up.
Good point about the foil backing, I forgot all about that. Ladyjewels asked about brilliants...... is that just a name used for brilliant cut?
|
zircon4
|
posted on July 17, 2004 07:51:19 PM new
Hi ladyjewels,
Brilliant refers to the cut. Normally 57 facets for a round brilliant. Older stones sometines had 58 facets. They would cut the tip of the pavilion off mainly on diamonds. Of course they also cut the tip of pavilion off on imitation diamonds of the same period. The original rhinestones were a natural quartz. I am not really up to date with costume stuff though. My interest is more in the fact that it was used as a diamond simulant. Although I thought I read somewhere that genuine rhinestones (who could have ever imagined using that term. LOL) were starting to get decent prices especially for stuff from the 20's and 30's.
Kiara and Fluffy are way ahead of me on that stuff.
"Hi zircon, I was wondering if you'd show up."
Of course Kiara, the topic was sparkly things.
Just for kicks I am going to list some of the really high end stuff from my web site in my ebay store. That should make a few heads spin.
Regards,
Adrian
|
Libra63
|
posted on July 17, 2004 07:55:13 PM new
Before I answered I should have looked this up. This is what I found in a book100 years of Collectible Jewelry by Lillian Baker.
Paste: A superior glass containing oxide of lead used for jewelry to imitate gems and gemstones. Joseph Strass perfected paste, although paste was used since ancient times as imitations of precious stones. French paste is considered superior to all others. Even today there are jewelry designers using paste which appeals to the "Jet Set" who are fearful of wearing their real gems in public. However, in Victorian and Edwardian times, much of the French Paste jewelry was not so much an imitation of jewels as a substitution. Most paste is actually a composition of pounded rock-crystal melted with alkaline salts, and colored with metallic oxides.
They were used in the Late Victorian (Aesthetic Period) C. 1880-1901
Rhinestone takes it's name but no element from the River Rhine, Germany. It is a faceted glass stone, usually set with foil backing to give it highlights. It is inferior to French paste or strass and cannot be cleaned successfully. Once the foil backing is scratched or marred it loses its luster.
|
zircon4
|
posted on July 17, 2004 08:05:14 PM new
Hi Libra,
I am sorry that I forgot to add you to my list of costume jewellery aficianados. I normally read the posts by you and Roadsmith as well to learn more about this stuff.
I just found this reference to natural rhinestones.
""Iris Glass" or "Rhinestones"
The use of natural rhinestones (Cailloux du Rhin) is recorded in Germany and Frances since at least the 17th Century. This variety of quartz is also called either rainbow quartz or iriz quartz because of the amount of iridescence it shows due to its internal fracturing. Itis found in the Alps and is brought down to the valleys by such rivers as the Rhine - hence the name Rhinestones.
The Bohemian makers of the Gablonz area introduced a new type of artifical gemstone that excelled with an outstanding sparkle. On small stones it was hard to tell why they had such fine sheens, only the larger stones revealed that it was achieves by simply including (generally three) transparent filaments of green, red and blue into the otherwise colorless glass. As the natural rhinestones were most frequently rainbow quartz (iris quartz), i.e. a type of quartz that displays a certain iridescence because of internal fractures, the makers call this glass "iris glass," while users stick to the term rhinestones.
Many jewelry pieces were made with these "rhinestones" from Gablonz and Germany, after World War I. The "rhinestones" of the late 19th century (pre World War I) have much stronger colors than the more recently crafted stones."
Regards,
Adrian
|
zircon4
|
posted on July 17, 2004 08:16:07 PM new
I also found this reference.
http://jewelry.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rhinestonesu.com%2Frhinestone_story.htm
And this one as well.
http://jewelry.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.trocadero.com%2Fstores%2Ffavoritethings%2Frhinestones.htm
Regards,
Adrian
Edited coz I jumped the gun and should have posted both links at the same time.
[ edited by zircon4 on Jul 17, 2004 08:20 PM ]
|
ladyjewels2000
|
posted on July 18, 2004 05:59:07 AM new
Thanks zircon4
So brillants just refers to how a stone was cut and not what the stone is? That makes sense for what I was reading or looking up. Sometimes it was real high end stuff and sometimes not!! I guess that's what had me going?
Thanks for all the links everyone - I have saved them all and they are wonderful.
|
