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It's not easy. If you have a lot of, say, 8mm bicones of both glass and crystal, you could weigh them (the glass separately from the crystal). The crystal should weigh more than the glass. However, if you want to tell Swarovski crystal from non-Swarovski crystal, there are a few characteristics to check. First of all, all Swarovski beads will be cut the same, whereas non-Swarovski beads will vary in cut quality, style, and facet placement. Second, Swarovski colors saturation will be consistent throughout each color and each bead. Non-Swarovski colors may fade or separate within the bead. Third, drilled holes in Swarovski beads will be centered, consistent, and not overly large in each and every bead. In non-Swarovski beads, drilled holes may be on an angle/not true vertical, may be 1mm or more in diameter, may not be centered in every bead, and you might see more than one hole drilled in, say, an 8mm cube. Finally, in the case of an aurora borealis finish, the Swarovski beads will exhibit a subtle iridescence, but the non-Swarovski beads will exhibit an obvious, coated iridescent effect.
When it comes to pearls I don't know that the glass variety is better or worse than the crystal. Both of them will be heavy which is a consideration if you're considering a large project. The crystal based pearls will be more expensive than the glass pearls.
The most sustainable beads are pearl beads. They are much stronger and last much longer than glass beads. This is one of the reasons they cost more than glass beads.
China tends to be more expensive than Crystal.
glass is much more expensive as metal is retail and glass in man made
and why?
Now called Swarovski Elements, Swarovski's crystal beads come in more than 200 shapes. These range from simple pearl beads to elaborate key, fish, heart and coral shapes.
a glass bead is made by taking a rod of glass and a metal rod then melting and winding wrap the rod of glass round the metal rod until you have a disc.then slowly turning it melt the glass into a bead shape[donut]. for more imfomation go to "lampworkglassbeads.com" Other glass beads are made from pressed glass or are cut glass beads, which are then polished.
Faceted glass beads are specially designed and cut so as get a desired shape and shine on them when worn. Faceted glass beads produce a glimmering and a sparkling shine especially when light falls on them and enhance the overall appearance of the wearer.For more information visit:http://the-beadshop.co.uk/index.php/beads/special-offers.html
yes
a glass bead is made by taking a rod of glass and a metal rod then melting and winding wrap the rod of glass round the metal rod until you have a disc.then slowly turning it melt the glass into a bead shape[donut]. for more imfomation go to "lampworkglassbeads.com" Other glass beads are made from pressed glass or are cut glass beads, which are then polished.
to many to enumerate without you being more specific.