The Knowledge about Rhinestone

  Look closely at the jewelry, earrings or clothing on the market, you may be surprised to find that rhinestones are everywhere!

  The rhinestones are shiny and dazzling, and are often used in jewelry or clothing decoration. Add these shiny elements and add a lot to the design! They shine like diamonds, but they are   not real diamonds. What is rhinestones? What is the definition of    rhinestones? What are the different types of rhinestones?

  According to the definition of the Oxford dictionary, rhinestones are artificial diamonds, which are used in cheap jewelry or decoration on clothing. In addition, according to the definition of   the Webster's Dictionary (the authoritative dictionary publishing   agency in the United States), rhinestones are high-gloss imitation diamonds made of glass, glass mixture, and gem quartz.

  According to the definition, we can find that the term rhinestone is quite versatile. For example, high-grade Swarovski crystals, ordinary glass crystals, or relatively cheap plastic diamonds   (such as acrylic or resin materials) can be simply called rhinestones.

 

The origin of rhinestones

Rhinestone (Rhinestone) originally refers to the small and shiny quartz stone. It was excavated on the Rhine in the 13th century, and the name Rhinestone was derived from its birthplace. Until the eighteenth century, the founder of Swarovski invented the use of machines to cut crystals, and rhinestones began to be mass-produced. In recent decades, different types of rhinestones have been manufactured, and rhinestones have become more accessible and widely used.

Various types of rhinestones

There are many types of rhinestones. What are the differences between different types of rhinestones? I often hear the name about rhinestones on the market, which is based on different characteristics of rhinestones.

The following distinguishes the rhinestones from the usage mode, the bottom of the rhinestones, and the material, and briefly introduces them.

According to the method of use: it is divided into flat-bottom hot-fix drills, hand-sewn drills, pasted flat-bottom drills, claw-set hand-sewn, overlock seam drills, claw nail

There are many types of rhinestones. What are the differences between different types of rhinestones? I often hear the name about rhinestones on the market, which is based on different characteristics of rhinestones.

The following distinguishes the rhinestones from the usage mode, the bottom of the rhinestones, and the material, and briefly introduces them.

1.Flat hot diamond

Mostly made of glass

Flat bottom, small size, round drill

Attached by heating, fast to arrange various totems

 

It can be understood from the literal meaning that these types of rhinestones are all flat-bottomed, and the rhinestones are attached to the fabric by heating and ironing.

A layer of adhesive is pre-attached to the bottom of the flat-bottom hot fix rhinestone. After heating for a period of time with an iron or hot fix applicator, the back glue of the rhinestone will melt and the rhinestone will easily adhere to the fabric.

At present, most of the hot-fixed diamonds on the market are made of glass and mostly round, and the size is mainly small. Since plastic acrylic and resin drills are not heat-resistant, they are not easy to use, and there are almost no hot-fixed drills made of plastic on the market.

2. Paste flat drill

Both glass and plastic materials

Flat bottom with various shapes and colors

By pasting, it takes time and labor

 

Use glue directly to attach the rhinestone to the items that need to be decorated. This method does not require much skill and is easy to use. Although they are both flat-bottomed diamonds, this type of rhinestone has more shape and color options than hot-fix diamonds, and can create more diverse designs.

3. Hand sewing drill

Both glass and plastic materials

Mostly flat bottoms, with various shapes

Through sewing, time-consuming and labor-intensive

Many shapes and colors, many changes

Hand-sewn diamonds need to attach rhinestones to clothing fabrics by sewing. This type of rhinestones are mostly flat-bottomed, with holes around or in the center, making it easy to sew. The advantage of using the hand-sewn method is that the rhinestone is very firm and hardly falls off, but the disadvantage is that it is more labor-intensive and time-consuming.

Hand-sewn drills are not limited to high-temperature heating, so in addition to glass materials, plastic materials such as acrylic and resin drills have more changes in color and shape.

4. Claw-set hand-stitched diamond

Both glass and plastic materials

Through sewing, time-consuming and labor-intensive

Many shapes and colors, many changes

 

Claw-set hand-stitched drill, also known as claw drill. The rhinestones are set on the claws with slits on the back, and the rhinestones are sewn on clothing, shoes and bag accessories by hand sewing. Compared with ordinary hand-sewn diamonds, the claws are covered with metal claws to add different textures.

Claw-set hand-sewn diamonds are also not limited to materials. In addition to glass diamonds, there are also plastic diamond claw drills. The colors and shapes of claw drills are very rich and diverse.

5. Overlock seam drill

Another kind of hand-stitched diamonds similar to claw inserts are covered diamond buckles, metal covered edges, and there are also sewing holes on the back to allow direct sewing.

6. Claws

The rhinestones are embedded in metal claw nails, and there are four claws on the back, which can directly hook and fix the fabric. It is often used on leather goods and shoes. There are different styles of rim set and tiffany mount.

According to the bottom of the rhinestone: flat bottom drill and sharp bottom drill

Sharp bottom drill

As the name suggests, it is a rhinestone with a pointed bottom. Sharp bottom diamonds more realistically simulate the appearance of diamonds. Due to the sharp bottom design, the bottom has more cutting surfaces at different angles. After the light penetrates the rhinestone, there are more refractive surfaces, which can reflect light in more directions, so it looks brighter and dazzling!

Compared with sharp-bottomed drills, flat-cut drills are not as bright as rhinestones that also cut the surface. However, because its bottom is flat, it is easier to use, like you can directly stick the rhinestone to the item you want to decorate through the glue.

Flat bottom drill

According to the material: glass drill, plastic drill, acrylic drill, resin drill

Glass drill

Glass diamonds are made by cutting artificial glass into diamonds. The glass itself is transparent, and the manufacturer plated a layer of metal on the back of the rhinestone to give the rhinestone a different refracted light, shining like a diamond.

Crystal diamond

The crystal diamond is made by adding lead to the glass material. Lead can increase the luster of crystals. Compared with ordinary glass drills, it has a better reflection of light, looks more textured, and has a higher price. The definition of crystal diamond in the EU is that the lead content of glass is more than 4%, and in the US it is more than 1%. Well-known brands on the market such as Swarovski or Treasure Osage rhinestones are crystal diamonds.

Plastic drill

Rhinestones made of plastic materials are also called plastic gems and imitation diamonds.The advantage of plastic drills is that they can be produced in larger quantities and at low cost. They are lead-free, hard to break, light in weight, and easier to use. If you need to use a large number of rhinestones and have budget constraints, then plastic drills are a very economical option.Plastic drills can be divided into acrylic drills and resin drills according to different materials.

Acrylic drill

Acrylic drills are manufactured using acrylic materials and injected through a mold. Acrylic rhinestones are made of acrylic materials that are transparent, easy to shape, light and not easily broken. They can mass produce rhinestones of various shapes, sizes and colors.

Acrylic drill without holes

Resin drill is to make a whole piece of silicone mold, and then drip into the resin to form. Because it is formed by compression molding, the surface of the resin drill changes a lot, and it can have many complicated and detailed surface designs.

Are rhinestones made of plastic? Understand the difference between acrylic and resin drills

Bling Bling rhinestones are dazzling! We often see it in clothing accessories, but how are these dazzling rhinestones made? Is it made of plastic? Why can it shine like a diamond? This article introduces plastic drills in detail and takes you to understand the difference between acrylic and resin drills.

According to the origin: Austrian drill, Czech drill, Middle Eastern drill, bench drill, imitation bench drill

Many well-known names, such as Austrian diamonds and Czech diamonds, are taken from the origin of rhinestones. The origin of Swarovski is Austria, some people will refer to it as Austrian diamond. Another brand Treasure Osa is from the Czech Republic, and people will also refer to it as the Czech diamond. In addition, the Middle East drill and bench drill represent rhinestones from the Middle East and Taiwan.

Distinguish according to the surface cutting: plain diamond (smooth diamond), cut diamond, lattice shape, satellite stone

Plain diamond (Cabochon)

Also called smooth diamond, it refers to the rhinestone with hemispherical surface. Mainly round, there are also oval, horse-eye and drop-shaped. Smooth diamonds have many special effects, such as pearl, solid color, protein color and so on.

Checkerboard (Grid, Turtle, Chessboard)

The surface of the rhinestone is like a checkerboard, with a square surface, and some people commonly call it a turtle face drill. In addition to round shapes, there are other shapes like ellipses, horse eyes, water drops, etc.

Flat Drill (Chanton)

The basic models of rhinestones have sharp bottoms and flat bottoms. Each rhinestone brand has its cutting technology and patents, such as 8 cutting, 12 cutting, 15 cutting and so on.

Satellite Stone (Rivoli)

The surface and bottom are sharp bottoms, and the symmetrical design is very special.

In addition to the above classification, rhinestones can also be distinguished by color and shape. Like AB color diamonds, round diamonds, strips, shaped diamonds, etc.

The types of rhinestones are very diverse, and choosing the right rhinestone is the most important.For example, if you want to sew on clothing fabrics, you can choose hand-sewn drills or hot-fix drills. If it is a higher-grade design, Swarovski crystal is more suitable. If there is a large demand, but there is not much budget, you can choose plastic diamonds like acrylic rhinestones instead.

Rhinestone can be customized and pasted on a variety of products, such as rhinestone license plate frames, rhinestone dog bowl, rhinestone key chain, custom rhinestone hair clips, rhinestone makeup brush holder. Please feel free to contact Blingstar.