Topic: Maybe Silly - Bud Vase with (swarovski) crystal??

[antiquerose123]

Silly question here, but I do not really know...

I just bought this (brass Bud Vase) from a thrift store, and have not even cleaned it up yet (very dusty).  I bought it for the little crystal, as I was not sure.  :spls:  The crystal does not melt as I tried a little pin prick on it.  So is this just a crystal, or could it be a swarovski crystal?  And JUST how does one tell a swarovski crystal anyways, and what is the difference between a crystal and a swarovski crystal.  Are there any sure-tell tests to do?  Sorry if this is a silly question, but I have no idea how to tell the difference....and it is glass?

I have seen those little figurines that are made of  swarovski cystal, and they are very pricey.  Please help, and I am sure it is a valid question.  TIA.

[Anne]

Hi Rose, Swarovski make animals and other little sculptures from crystals. All the ones I've seen and handled are marked somewhere on them as such. Quite feint sometimes but there.
More about Swarovski here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swarovski

I have a pic of the Swarovski mark which I'll dig out tomorrow and add to the marks album.

[TxSilver]

Swarovski used to sell individual unmarked crystals of varying shapes and sizes. People and companies would use the crystals to make their own sculptures or jewelry. The only sure way I know to tell if the individual crystals are Swarovski is that the box or certificate will say so. Swarovski marks its sculptures, but not its individual crystals.

[Max]

Your little vase looks vaguely 1970s - hard to tell from the pics.  I'm not sure if Swarovski were making this type of item then.  :huh:

[Ivo]

Swarovski have been in business for a very long time making paste costume jewellery (read up on paste here: http://www.fashion-era.com/jewellery.htm) and you can drive the people at Swarovski absolutely bonkers if you refer to their ware as "strass".  The Swarovski material is ultra soft and cannot withstand any pressure, so it is not suitable for mounting in an armature like yours. You may therefore assume your glass or crystal bead was made properly. Check for mould lines on the item. You may find the bead is pressmoulded.

[Anne]

Swarovski marks its sculptures, but not its individual crystals.

Yup, that's what I meant but didn't make it very clear. 

I have some Swarovski crystal bead earrings and they are definitely not marked.

[TxSilver]

Yup, that's what I meant but didn't make it very clear. 

I have some Swarovski crystal bead earrings and they are definitely not marked.

Oh... I wasn't correcting you, Anne.  I was just adding to what you had written. I have a big cabinet full of Swarovski animals that includes a few that are made by other companies using Swarovski crystals. If I didn't have the certificates, the only way I would suspect the crystals were Swarovski is that they have a lot of internal fire. I have the feeling that the crystal in Rose's vase is not Swarovski. The cut is unfamiliar.

[KevinH]

... you can drive the people at Swarovski absolutely bonkers if you refer to their ware as "strass". ...

Following up from another thread some time ago, I emailed Swarovski and asked whether their "crsytal" was "glass" (they use the word in their advertising stuff) or some other material. The reply did not answer the question but simply repeated much of the advertising wording. Did I really expect anything different? Probably not.

[Frank]

Odd that even on Ivo's link and further http://www.fashion-era.com/jewellery/jewellery_swarovski_crystal_accessories.htm you are left with the impression it is either cut glass or some other artificially made gemstone  :huh: But an older company booklet, I have, explained that the founder had patented a process to form pulverised glass into crystals, hence paste. Clearly in a modern world the fact that something is made from dust is not good marketing. Perhaps their hyperbole has sufficiently distracted or perhaps the original methods have just been replaced with even cheaper techniques. It is intriguing how well it often seems to sell on eBay but even there it is highly erratic as with everything else. While definitions might have been confused it is originally a form of glass, whatever it is today.