Vintage Rhinestone Jewelry

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Imitation gems were first substituted for diamonds in necklaces, bracelets, and other types of jewelry in the mid-18th century, when an Alsatian jeweler named Georg Friedrich Strass mimicked diamonds by coating glass with metal powder. Made of...
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Imitation gems were first substituted for diamonds in necklaces, bracelets, and other types of jewelry in the mid-18th century, when an Alsatian jeweler named Georg Friedrich Strass mimicked diamonds by coating glass with metal powder. Made of rock crystal, acrylic, and leaded glass, these fakes were originally called paste or diamante, as well as strass after their inventor. While Strass may have devised the formula, it was Empress Maria Theresa of the Hapsburgs who—perhaps unintentionally—popularized the products by selling the formula to the French so that only she would be seen wearing anything that even resembled a diamond. In the late 19th century, Austrian jeweler Daniel Swarovski produced the first real rhinestones as we think of them today. After painstaking experimentation, Swarovski devised a foil backing that made his high-quality faceted crystals almost indistinguishable from diamonds. Demand was so great that in 1892 he patented a mechanical cutter so his “stones” could be mass-produced. The family business was originally located in the Gablonz area of Bohemia, but in 1895 Swarovski moved it to Austria near the Rhine River—his faux gems have been known as rhinestones ever since. Still manufactured in Austria today, the quality of Swarovski crystal remains unmatched. While most people associate rhinestones with clear glass, these head-turning fakes aren’t only used as diamond copycats. Rhinestones also perform admirably as turquoise, carnelian, onyx, opals, rubies, and just about any other gemstone a jeweler might care to imitate. Mass production made rhinestones popular during the Art Nouveau period, but it wasn't until the 1920s, when Coco Chanel championed costume jewelry, that rhinestones captured the popular imagination. With Chanel as their advocate, rhinestones matured from shabby second cousins of the genuine article—emerald earrings dusting the shoulders of debutantes, sapphires perched on matronly knuckles—into a credible...
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