Rhinestones Explained  -  More Info

Rhinestone options, choices, and terminology can be VERY confusing. This page is our attempt to simplify much of the confusion (and not add to it).

We've tried to answer many of the more frequently asked questions, and provide more details about all that we offer on our Rhinestone pages.

We hope the following information will help you understand what's available, and what we offer, and will help you in placing your order.

If you have any questions, or need more info, please don't hesitate to call, email, fax, or write us.

Roses are round flat-back rhinestones.
The 'traditional' Rose is set onto fabric with a rhinestone setter using either Tiffany-Prong or Rim-Set settings, or glued to the fabric (or other surface) using one of the several adhesives specially made for the purpose.

Hot-Fix (or Heat-Fix) Roses are backed with a special glue, and are set using a regular clothes-iron (if you're very careful!), or using a special tool (much safer and quicker) such as The Kandi Kane™, which picks up the stone, then heats it and melts the glue, allowing you to quickly and easily apply the stone to the fabric (or any other surface).

The Hot-Fix process is much faster and easier than hand-setting, hand-sewing, or hand-gluing. In addition, Swarovski® has recently improved the glue used on their hot-fix stones to withstand the rigors of most dry-cleaning processes. With the recent improvements in tools and glue, and with the huge color selection now available, this method of setting rhinestones is definitely the fastest, easiest, and most economical way to get your project out of the shop and onto the stage!

Lochrosen are round flat-back rhinestones with a hole in the center for sewing to the material. The center-hole allows you to attach a bead to the center of the stone if desired. The stones can also be glued to the fabric using one of the several adhesives specially made for the purpose.

Flat-Back Sew-On (Edge-Hole) Rhinestones come in a variety of shapes and sizes, from round to heart-shape to teardrops, and many more. These stones typically have 2 holes at opposite edges of the stone to allow you to securely sew the stone to the material. In the larger sizes, the 2 holes allow for a much more secure attachment to the fabric than a single center-hole.

These stones can also be glued to the fabric using one of the several adhesives specially made for the purpose. However, glues don't work well with larger stones on fabric - we highly recommend that larger stones be sewn in place.

Chatons are round pointed-back rhinestones. These stones are set-on the material with a rhinestone setter and using special Tiffany-Prong or Rim-Set settings. These stones cannot be glued to the fabric. In general, a Chaton has a greater depth of color, clarity, and 'sparkle' than a Rose.

Rose Montées Rhinestones are Round Flat-Back rhinestones (Roses) that come pre-mounted in a special very flat metal 'cup' that allows you to securely sew the stone to the material from 4 directions. (The 'cup' is not shown in the picture at left). These stones are perfect for hand-wired Jeweled Tiaras.

Chaton Montées Rhinestones are Round Pointed-Back rhinestones (Chatons) that come pre-mounted in a special metal 'cup' that allows you to securely sew the stone to the material from 4 directions. (The 'cup' is not shown in the picture at left). These stones are perfect for hand-wired Jeweled Tiaras.

Rhinestone Banding (strands) are a connected 'chain', or row, of individual stones, each stone held in a metal or plastic 'cup'. A 'single-row' strand is one continuous row of connected stones. A 'double-row' strand is two continuous and connected rows of connected stones. Stranded stones are also available in triple, quadruple, and even more rows. The stones may be connected using one or a combination of methods, including strung with solid or elastic thread, or strung and set on a colored net or elastic backing.

Rhinestones are available in a huge variety of shapes, sizes, styles, and colors. Shapes include Roses and Chatons (round), tear-drop/pear-shape, Navettes ('cats-eyes' or Marquis-Cut), Cabochons, diamonds, squares, rectangles, ovals, hearts, flowers, and many more - the list is nearly endless. Sizes range from very tiny to very large. Styles include set-on, hot-fix, sew-ons with 1, 2, 3, 4, or more holes, 'cupped' stones, banding, chains, appliqués, and even rhinestone 'fabric'. Depending on the particular item, colors and effects may range from just a few to several hundred.

The current Swarovski® 'catalog' of available stone types, styles, shapes, sizes, and colors is actually several very large catalogs that detail several hundreds of thousands of different rhinestone and gemstone products. There are also a large number of Czech and Asian manufacturers that offer many similar and additional items, sizes, and colors.

Our Rhinestone pages are oriented toward the stones most frequently used for dance costumes, ballet in particular. These pages do not even try to include the full range of available items.

Czech (and some Asian) Cut-Crystal stones are very close in quality to Swarovski® Austrian Cut-Crystal stones, and are typically a little cheaper. But the quality is still less than Swarovski®.

Molded 'crystal' Stones - many Czech and Asian 'crystal' stones are actually molded to shape rather than cut, and this degrades the quality of the stone quite a bit.

Glass stones may be either cut or molded. Cut glass stones are probably somewhat higher-quality than molded 'crystal' stones, but lesser-quality than cut 'crystal' stones. Molded glass stones are typically lower quality than molded 'crystal' stones.

Acrylic stones are molded plastic, and not worth discussing for stage performance.

Your choice of rhinestone quality may depend on the size of the theatre in which your costume will be presented, or even the type of costume item you're creating. Our experience is that Czech and Asian stones will probably work fine in a small venue, out to the 20th row or so. But, if you want your decoration effort to be seen by the audience sitting in the last row in a large theatre, your costume needs Swarovski® rhinestones.

To make things worse, Czech stones, Asian stones, and acrylic stones frequently use a Swarovski name for a somewhat different color, or use a different name for a Swarovski-similar color (such as 'Caribbean' for 'Capri Blue'). The names used may not correlate to the current Swarovski color chart, and may depend on the particular factory or vendor.

And of course, some catalogs and websites may continue to list discontinued colors and color names as currently available colors long past the time they were 'officially' dropped from the Swarovski catalog.

Many vendors and importers have begun applying their own 'effect' coatings to 'standard' rhinestones. And not all vendors agree on which colors or effects are considered a 'Special Effect', or on the name of the particular color or effect.

'Effect' stones are generally more expensive than 'standard' stones. We do not attempt to distinguish between 'standard' colors and 'effect' colors by name - the price says it all.

Aurora Borealis (AB) is a coating that adds a rainbow-like effect to the basic stone color, and may somewhat lighten the base color. This Effect is most commonly associated with Crystal stones, and 'Aurora Borealis' is often the term used to describe 'Crystal AB' rhinestones.

An AB stone typically enhances the basic color, but at times may also substantially modify the basic color. And, the additional 'rainbow' highlights may not always complement the original costume design. The AB Effect is available on a limited selection of Swarovski stones and colors.

Satin Finish
These stones have a light Hematite (grey) coating, giving a 'smoky' effect to the base color.

Matte Finish
These stones are chemically treated to 'blur' and 'deaden' the basic color.

There are several additional 'Effects', such as Frosted, Vacuum Coated, Double Coated, Reverse Coated, Impressed Motif, Partial Cut, etc., etc.

Silver Foil - the back of the stone is coated with a silver mirror to reflect all of the light and color out of the stone. The mirror is then protected on the outside with a silver-colored coating. Most of the stones and colors we offer are backed with a silver foil, which blends very well with all fabric colors.

Gold Foil - the back of the stone is coated with a silver mirror to reflect all of the light and color out of the stone. The mirror is then protected on the outside with a gold-colored coating.

Metallic Foil - the back of the stone is coated with a silver mirror to reflect all of the light and color out of the stone. The mirror is then protected on the outside with an aluminum/grayish-colored coating.

A Transparent or Un-Foiled rhinestone has no backing on the stone. This allows the background fabric or material to affect the stone's basic color. Whether or not this effect is favorable depends on the background, the stone color, and the costumer's desired result.

In Hot-Fix Rhinestones, a Transparent stone does not have the usual glue-coated metal backing. Instead, the back of stone is coated directly with the glue, which dries clear and does not affect the stone color. As with other transparent rhinestones, this allows the background fabric or material to affect the stone's basic color. Also as with other transparent rhinestones, whether or not this effect is favorable depends on the background, stone color, and the costumer's desired result.

'Cup' refers to the pre-applied holder a Montées (or similar) stone is set in. The color of the cup usually does not affect the stone color, but may have an affect on the overall appearance of the costume item.

The original gem-stone (and rhinestone) sizing is based on centuries-old pearl-sizing. Pearls were placed on plates with holes punched in them, and the pearls that fell through the holes were sized (and priced) according to the hole-size they fit through. Which is where the 'PP' sizing designation comes from - the 'PP' stands for 'Pearl Plate'.

Later on, jewelry sellers developed their own sizing formula, called 'Stone Size', or 'SS'.

The 2 sizing conventions are still in use today. Smaller stones are typically sized by 'PP', larger stones by 'SS', but there is an overlap in the 'in-between' sizes. There's no apparent good reason for the continued use of the 2 sizing methods, other than centuries-old tradition and convention.

To make it a little more confusing, the sizing is not exact - it designates a 'size range'. In other words, a 29pp stone can range in size from 3.6mm to 3.7mm. But, just to make it really confusing, a 29pp stone (3.6mm-3.7mm) and a 30pp stone (3.7mm to 3.8mm) are both equivalent to a 15ss stone (3.6mm to 3.8mm).

Tiffany-Prong Settings (shown at left) attach to the stone from the back of the fabric, using a special setting-tool. Most of the setting is hidden on the back of the fabric, and only the tiny prongs actually touch the rhinestone.

Rim-Set Settings are reversed. The setting actually encloses the stone from the front, around the 'rim', with the prongs folded-over on the back of the fabric. Rim-Sets tend to cover-up more of the stone surface than Tiffany-Prong settings, and may reduce the overall effect of the stone. But, because the prongs are on the back of the fabric, Rim-Settings don't 'snag' as easily as Tiffany-Prongs when brushed or rubbed against.

Most settings are typically available in a silver-finish (nickel-steel) and a brass-finish (gold color).

We tend to prefer Tiffany-Prong settings in a silver (nickel) finish. Most of the setting is hidden on the back of the fabric, and the tiny silver prongs do not detract from the stone's overall effect. If properly and securely set with a high-quality setter, any tendency to 'snag' is greatly reduced.

Plunger setters are the most commonly used 'traditional' tool, and range from very inexpensive limited-use models, to somewhat more expensive professional versions. Their use is simple - place the setting, place the stone, position the setter, and push down - voilá, the stone is set!

Stapler setters are a variation on the 'plunger' style, but are a little more comfortable on your hand. They look and operate like a desk-stapler, but the method of use is the same as the 'plunger' models.

Hot-Fix (or Heat-Fix) setters are the fastest and easiest-to-use setters, but can only be used with Hot-Fix rhinestones. There are several different brands and models available, but all are designed to function like a simple soldering iron or wand, and all operate much the same way - the setter picks up the stone, heats and melts the glue on the back of the stone, then you apply the stone to the fabric or surface. Very simple, and very fast!

Costume shops that do a high volume of repetitive hand-set or hot-fix rhinestoning may use a kick-press or heat-press machine. These machines greatly reduce stress on the hands, and greatly speed-up the setting process. They typically cost several hundred dollars (and more), and we don't offer them (yet).

You should NEVER use white-glue, hot-glue, epoxy, super-glue, a glue-gun, or any other glue except one designed especially for this purpose. Glues that are not intended for gems may discolor the stone or destroy it's finish, may damage or discolor the fabric, will not hold the gem over an extended period of time, and will not dry clear, adding unwanted and discolored 'blobs' to the costume.

Glues typically will not survive commercial or at-home dry-cleaning - they will 'yellow' and become very brittle. The 'yellowing' will ruin even the most exquisite costume, and some, most, or all of the stones will loosen or come all the way off (which is why we always use easily removable plates and overlays in our own designs).

Although Swarovski® has recently improved the glue used on their hot-fix stones to survive the rigors of 'most' dry-cleaning processes, it may not survive ALL the dry-cleaning fluids and processes that are currently in use.

Bottom-line - always be very cautious when dry-cleaning any expensive or unreplaceable dance-costume.