What’s the difference between Crystal, Glass, Acrylic and Resin Rhinestones?
The biggest difference is quality and cost
All of them have their uses but it depends what type of project you are working on, as well as your budget or your clients budget. Rhinestones vary in quality depending in how they are manufactured, what their made of and how they are cut.
Swarovski Rhinestones
- Swarovski Rhinestones are one of the original manufactures of Rhinestones. They are the highest quality rhinestones on the market. They are also the most expensive, and have 14-16 Facets. Crystal Rhinestones have the highest light refraction because they are made of glass and contain lead, lead increases the light reflection and color vibrance. Now days Swarovski also offers lead free options.
Glass Rhinestones
- Glass Rhinestones are next because they are high quality, budget friendly, and can be lead free or contain lead. They have 12-14 facets. Our Diamond Cut Rhinestones are in this category, other stones in this category include Preciosa Czech Rhinestones.
Korean Rhinestones
- Korean Rhinestones are also made of glass and have 10 facets and Diamante Machine Cut (DMC) Rhinestones. Bling Your Things Korean Rhinestones are made under Oeko-Tek productions standards to be classified as Low Lead. This means they are made with environmentally friendly materials.
Imitation Rhinestones
- In addition, Imitation Rhinestones are also made. They are called Machine Cut (MC) Rhinestones. These type of stones are low quality. They have inferior foil backings that fall off. The Hotfix stones that have black colored glues are messy and are more prone to fall off your projects.
Lowest Quality
- Acrylic and Resin/Jelly Rhinestones are the last in the list and are the lowest quality. This type of stone gets their color from dyes or coatings used in how they are made. Acrylic stones are made by injecting plastic and the color into a molding and resin/jelly stones are made by compressing plastic and the colors into a molding. Since both are plastic, they can melt if stored in higher heat, like being left in a car and resin stones also tend to yellow over time.
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