Unusual crystal glass bead vintage necklace

 An unusual vintage necklace of crystal clear glass beads

I have never seen this type of crystal bead necklace ever. So of course I had to buy it from the car boot sale. The glass beads are faceted to give that twinkling effect when the light reflects of them. However instead of having colour added to the glass or a coating over the glass beads to add some different colours. The thread is in a multi coloured style. So when it passes through the bead the colour is magnified.

So although the beads are all clear. There are flashes of red, blue, green, pink and yellow thread colour. Completed in a graduated style with a silver metal bolt ring. Unfortunately the clasp isn't signed. An important tip is to look at these ring fastenings under a loop. Many are signed with the country of origin or maker. Sometimes they are stamped with the silver mark.

Not for sale and now part of my growing collection. 

Jewellery words that begin with the letter C

Continuing our jewellery terminology glossary. Here are the jewellery terms beginning with C.

Cabochon - A stone cut into a curved or smooth round shape with a flat surface and not faceted.
Cairngorm - Brownish/yellow variety of a smoky quartz.
Calcite - Harder than Halcite semi precious stone and has a glassy sheen that can come in blue, clear or orange.
Cameo - A shell or other material with a raised relief profiled theme. It can be carved or manufactured.
Cape Emerald/ Cape Chrysolite - An attractive milky green mineral called Prehnite.
Carat - The unit of weight of a precious stone or metal. 
Carbuncle - A garnet cut as a cabochon not faceted.
Cat's Eye or Cats Eye - Varieties of chrysoberyl that allow light to reflect.
Carnelian/Cornelian - Rich orange semi precious stone. May have some banding.
Celestite/Celestine - Soft grey-blue mineral that has been used in making ceramics and glass. .
Chakra - Spinning vortex of subtle energy.
Chalcedony - Grey - blue and sky blue quartz with micro crystalline varieties of quartz.
Chalk - Soft white porous rock
Champleve - Enamel work where metal is engraved and then filled with enamel.

Charm - Usually a small attachment to a chain bracelet. Now charms can be attached to necklaces and other pieces of jewellery 
Chasing - Surface texturing of metal by hammers and punches.
Chatelaine - Pin or claps with hanging chains for items of continual use, such as keys, watch, scissors, etc.
Chaton - The central ornament of a ring.
Chi - Chinese term for life energy.
Chrysoberyl - Species of semi precious stones to which Cat's Eyes and Alexandrites belong to.
Chrysolite - Pale yellowish green stone. A variety of Peridot.
Chrysoprase - Light green semi precious quartz.
Cinnabar - Soft and porous rock in a rich red colour. Beware of fake Cinnabar from China in recent years.
Citrine Quartz - Uncommon with warm tones of yellow sunlight. Today it is produced from a more common quartz amethyst which turns a golden yellow when heated.
Claw Set/Coronet Setting - Term used for setting a stone where the claws project from the base of its setting. A Coronet Setting is always round, whilst a Claw Setting might be square.
Clear Quartz - Also known as Rock Crystal.
Clear Topaz - Clear - blue stone that can look like Sapphires.
Clear Zircon - Hard stone that imitates a diamond.
Clip - Mechanism used in earrings and scarf clips to hold in place.
Cloisonne - In enamel work where metal separate the coloured enamel filling.
Cocktail rings - In 1925 heavy elaborate rings of unusual design were given this name because they were suitable to be worn to a cocktail party.
Collet Setting - Method of setting in which a precious stone is held in place by wrapping it in a rounded band of metal.
Collier - Wide statement necklace which encircles the neck from throat to chin
Copper - Chemical reaction between other minerals and solutions forms copper.
Coral - Formed from the skeletal remains of small sea creatures. Red is the most valuable. Now rare due to its over harvesting.
Corbeille - Gifts made by a bridegroom to his bride.
Cordonniere - Girdle twisted to resemble cord. It is tied in the front with long ends hanging down.
Cornelian - Clear red Chalcedony stone.
Corundum - Species of semi precious stone of which Ruby and Sapphire belong. Next down from a diamond in hardness.
Costume Jewellery - Fashion ornaments in non precious materials - also known as fashion jewellery.
Crackled Quartz - Also called Star-Burst Quartz. Clear quartz is heated and cooled to give a cracked effect. Dye is absorbed to give a very sparkly appearance. 
Creole Earrings - Hoop style that has a thicker base than top.
Crystal - Mineral with regular planes and faces reflecting a regular internal structure. It can also refer to glass as in Swarovski Crystal. Where the glass is highly reflective.
Cubic Zirconia - See clear Zircon.
Curb - The most common pattern for gold chain bracelets.

Updated May 2022

Clip backs to clip on earrings.

Babycham charm 1970s

Crystal beads in glass in this brooch

Hat charm bracelet by Avon

Turquoise coloured stones called cabochon in this Czech brooch.

What is the difference between rhinestone and diamante?

What is the difference between diamante, rhinestone and crystal? It seems today each term is used for the same type of simulated diamond style stones in jewellery. So lets look at each in turn.

Diamante – well those in the UK seem to use this term for sparkling stones in jewellery. Years ago it used to be only used for the sparkling sequin stones that were sewn onto garments to add sparkle. But somewhere between the 1950s and 1970s it became a household name for the stones used in jewellery. Today it is still used widely in the UK with various forms of spelling for example diamonte, dimonte and diamantes. Here on Jewels and Finery we use it for the less sparkling and quality jewellery we have, including acrylic diamante.

Rhinestone – this is the term used in the US for all sparkling stones in the past and even today. Large or small, pave, foiled backed or unbacked. The name originated from the Rhine in Germany, where rock crystal gemstones were found. In the eighteenth century, a manufacturer called Strass found a way to turn glass into shiny like stones called the totally original “Strass”.  Earlier in the seventeenth century glass with a high amount of lead, called paste was used first by the gentry. Afraid of getting robbed many people started to replace diamonds and other gems with paste. This lead to the fashion of paste and eventually the popular non precious stones or artificial gemstone use in jewellery. Paste reached its peak use in the late 18 century, because of Strass and his glass rhinestone invention.

Crystal – Swarovski and the jewellery makers of Bohemia and Austria are responsible for this term. Crystal is just high quality and super shining glass rhinestones or beads. It is also called Austrian crystal or Bohemian crystal. In 1955, when Swarovski produced a coating to clear rhinestone glass that gave it that “oil on water” effect that soon became very much prized in the world of jewellery. Today the term crystal is used loosely for Swarovski crystal rhinestone of a huge amount of colours and coating finishes, with clear glass beads or above the shaped crystal used in this rose brooch – Swarovski made is the best available.

Swarovski glass pendant necklace by Exquisite has that wow sparkle that comes from Swarovski crystals.