Re: REVIEW: Preciosa Czech Cut Crystals
Marilee Murch
Marilee
Jalynne
Crystals today when I was at Shipwreck, but I hesitated, not really knowing for sure
about the comparative quality. Next time, I will buy with confidence. I just love
your reviews. They keep me from making costly mistakes.
--
Jalynne - Keeper of the Quilt for ME club list
Queen Gypsy (snail mail available upon request)
see what i've been up to at www.100megsfree4.com/jalynne
"Kathy N-V" <kathyn...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:0001HW.BDBC1D10...@news.comcast.giganews.com...
> Short Version: Oh boy. Someone at Swarovski is probably up nights,
> worrying about what those wily Czechs are up to, and if they aren't,
> they should be.
>
> Long Version: I adore Swarovski Austrian Crystals, and spend a ton
> of money on them. In order to save a few bucks, I have tried cheaper
> crystals in the past, but the Chinese "Celestial Crystals" are a
> waste of my money, IMHO. Celestial Crystals are imperfectly cut, not
> adequately finished, and don't have the deep down sparkle of Austrian
> Crystals.
>
> However, the last time I went to the Czech Republic, I saw cut
> crystal chandeliers that were every bit as nice as any Austrian
> chandeliers I had ever seen. It got me thinking that if the Czechs
> ever decided to make cut crystal beads, the Austrians would be in
> trouble.
>
> To experiment, I bought a variety of Preciosa Cut Crystals from
> Shipwreck Beads, in some of the same colors I already own in Austrian
> Crystals. I also have the Celestial Crystals I bought a while back
> and decided not to use. To make my comparison fair, I only compared
> identically named colors in the 4 mm bicone style. To that end, I
> compared Light Amber bicones, Crystal Bicones and Crystal AB Bicones.
> As a color check, I also bought some heliotrope colored Preciosa
> Crystals and compared them with my existing heliotrope colored
> Swarovski Crystals.
>
> On first glance, the Czech crystals look really good. The faceting
> is darned close to the Austrian crystals, even under a magnifying
> glass. There were a few more flawed beads than in a similar sample
> of Swarovskis. I'm not sure if that's because Letrinka (my Swar.
> Enabler) does a great job of culling odd beads, or if the quality
> control at Preciosa isn't quite up to speed. The number of "bad"
> beads was minimal, anyway. (the flaws were slightly misaligned facets
> or teeny bits of chipping around the hole in the bead. I had no
> unusable Czech crystals)
>
> Austrian Crystals have a 32% lead content, which is a big reason that
> they are so incredibly glittery and heavy for their size. A pretty
> good look at the Preciosa web site doesn't reveal the exact lead
> content of their crystals, but I suspect it is lower than Swar. The
> Czech beads weren't quite as beautiful, but very close. The Chinese
> crystals looked horrid in comparison to either.
>
> To compare colors, I took a few beads out in the sunlight, then
> looked at them in fluorescent light, incandescent light and under my
> OTT light. The colors are not the same. Close, but not exactly
> alike. The Austrian clear crystals are a little "bluer" than the
> Czech kind, but it's not at all obvious when they aren't side by
> side.
>
> The heliotrope was very different, though. The Austrian crystals had
> a clear edge, because the Czech crystals looked a little gray, and
> just didn't have that "pop" that makes Sw. heliotrope beads so
> special. The topaz beads were slightly different shades, but it would
> be merely a matter of preference as to which one is "better." AB
> coatings looked identical, which makes sense since the founder of
> Swarovski Crystal, Daniel Swarovski, was originally from Jablonec in
> the current Czech Republic. Preciosa Crystals is in Jablonec, one of
> the most important cities in the development of glass beads. AB
> coatings are old technology, and both companies have it down
> perfectly.
>
> There are a few areas where Austrian crystals are definitely
> superior: shapes, sizes and available colors. Swarovski crystals
> come in an amazing variety of shapes, and have a pallette that makes
> me drool. When you consider the current range of available Swarovski
> colors and some of the vintage beads that can still be bought, it's
> a given that there will be a Swarovski color that will suit your
> project and your taste. The Preciosa Crystals have a nice color
> range, but it's nowhere near as extensive as Swarovski's.
>
> Preciosa Crystals have some very interesting coatings that are not
> available in Swarovski, as far as I can determine. It may simply be
> naming conventions, I'd have to buy and examine the Czech crystals to
> see what would be a comparable finish in Austrian crystals. (Goody!
> Another excuse to buy crystals! I'll tell Bob it's for science) The
> Czech finish names that are new to me are zairite, clarite, celsian,
> velvet and valentinite. (Velvet may be crystal transmission, I
> can't be sure)
>
> It's the same thing with shapes. Shipwreck carries a limited number
> of shapes, so I perused the Preciosa web site to see what else they
> have. Again, no comparison, but they do have the bicones and round
> beads that comprise most of my bead purchases. Astonishingly, the
> Czech crystals don't come in the wildly popular cube shape, and the
> Chinese crystals do. Swarovski crystals come in many more sizes than
> Chinese or Czech crystals, but the popular bicones come up to 12 mm
> in all the crystals.
>
> I would not mix the Czech crystals and the Austrian ones in the same
> project - the subtle differences would drive me crazy, and as I said
> before, the colors are not an exact match. OTOH, I wouldn't hesitate
> to use the Czech crystals for almost any project, unless I were
> making high end pieces for sale. The Czech crystals are lovely, but
> they don't have the name recognition or cachet of Swarovski.
>
> The other comparison, which I considered least important, but really
> needs to addressed is price. Chinese crystals cost next to nothing,
> but in that case you get what you pay for. Czech fire polished beads
> are usually worlds nicer than the supposed cut crystal from China.
> Swarovski crystals cost approximately twice as much as Preciosa, and
> they are not twice as nice. (The price differential varies - in some
> cases the price difference is less, and in a few it's more) Maybe
> 10% nicer, in my totally unscientific opinion.
>
> I suspect that the price differential is due to the incredibly cost
> of doing business in Austria, which is a very regulated place.
> Swarovski employees are reportedly very well treated, and the laws in
> Austria protect the workers very well. One thing that impressed me is
> the Preciosa web site made a big point of outlining the good
> conditions under which their artisans work, and that they provide
> benefits on par with Western European countries, unlike most of the
> former Soviet states. I was unable to find diddly about the working
> conditions for Chinese crystal makers, and I suspect that they aren't
> anything to brag about.
>
> In a nutshell, Swarovski still has the edge, because of their
> astonishing number of colors and shapes, and their overall excellent
> quality and consistency. But if Preciosa continues to improve, I can
> easily see them matching or surpassing Swarovski in the bead
> department. I'm delighted to see some competition in the crystal
> market, because I anticipate that Swarovski will come up with some
> amazing innovations to maintain their lead.
>
> Your intrepid reporter,
>
> Kathy N-V
>
>
Kaytee
N-V <kathyn...@hotmail.com> writes:
>the Chinese "Celestial Crystals" are a
>waste of my money, IMHO. Celestial Crystals are imperfectly cut, not
>adequately finished, and don't have the deep down sparkle of Austrian
>Crystals.
I agree with you. The first time I saw them, I thought they were acrylic. Even
after "tooth testing" one, they still looked acrylic.... From what I was told,
they contain no lead-- they're plain glass. And, edges chip very easily....
Kaytee
"Simplexities" on
www.eclecticbeadery.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/simplexities/
Peggy
Kandice Seeber
definitely am going to check out the Preciosa site for crystals to go with
my beads.
--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net
> "Kathy N-V" wrote in message
Kandice Seeber
that are cubes -Mimis Gems - here's a link to one of their cube auctions -
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4941680703
--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net
>