Swarovski Jewelry: First and foremost, it’s all about crystal.
We’re all familiar with Swarovski jewelry—it’s made from the finest Swarovski crystals, which bear the “SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS” quality label and are used to create the most beautiful jewels with swarovski elements, such as the SPARK collection.
This is because Swarovski did not originally start out as a jewelry manufacturer but as a crystal manufacturer. Its production ranges from very low-end crystal—found in low-cost Chinese imports—to high-end crystal, namely the crystals branded “SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS.” Swarovski is the name of the brand’s founder, who improved the quality and manufacturing of glass crystals that had existed long before his time. He was so successful that Swarovski crystals are sometimes better known than certain gemstones.
What is the difference between a low-end Swarovski crystal and a high-end one?
First of all, there is the crystal’s composition: very few crystals produced by Swarovski are pure; they are combined with other molecules to give the crystal a white, yellow, blue, red, etc., color, as well as depth and more or less colorful reflections. Of course, the chemical compositions that produce the most beautiful iridescence are reserved for“SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS” crystals used in Swarovski jewelry, SPARK jewelry, and a few other lines. For example, there isn’t just one type of white Swarovski crystal —there are several. The difference lies simply in the iridescence the crystal will exhibit: blue, green, yellow… subtle or very pronounced…
SPARK jewelry made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS in crystal white with purple highlights
SPARK jewelry made with SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS in crystal white with multicolored sparkles
Another measure of quality: the purity of the Swarovski crystal:
A Swarovski crystal is like a diamond or a gemstone—it is the way light plays through it that makes it beautiful. The purity of Swarovski crystal must be flawless for SPARK jewelry and Swarovski jewelry.
SPARK jewelry featuring SWAROVSKI ELEMENTS in crystal white
The crystal’s cut for a gemstone-like sparkle:
When it comes to gemstones, the cut is paramount. It’s a delicate process because every stone is unique. The challenge is to transform a rough stone into the most beautiful gemstone possible while losing as little material as possible—and thus to choose a shape that remains as close as possible to the rough stone. Next, the number of facets and their orientations are carefully determined to achieve the most beautiful reflections. For Swarovski crystals, this is much simpler, since they are produced to the desired size from the start and can be reproduced at will. However, the choice of facets and their orientation stems directly from fine jewelry and gemstone cutting ; it follows the same principles and the same need to produce the most beautiful effect with the light entering or exiting the stone.
SPARK teardrop-shaped pendant made of white SWAROVSKI crystal with colorful and silver highlights
The quality of the frame:
In the case of Swarovski and Spark jewelry, the setting is always made of precious metals: solid 925 silver plated with another precious metal— rhodium. Indeed, a genuine Swarovski crystal cannot produce its best reflections on ordinary steel; 925 sterling silver provides the purity of a precious metal, and when rhodium-plated, it does not oxidize. Very often in Swarovski and SPARK jewelry, the play of light is created not only by its transformation inside the Swarovski crystal but also by the reflection it produces on the silver that holds it. Light undergoes transformations as it enters the crystal, is then partially reflected off the shine of the silver, and undergoes further transformations inside the crystal.
3 SPARK silver necklaces featuring pendants in the shape of 3 butterflies set in rhodium-plated silver
It’s hard to say what the main criterion for quality is.
It’s all part of the whole: the beauty of a piece of jewelry featuring a Swarovski crystal comes from the crystal’s composition, its shape, its facets, and the setting in which it is mounted—and all of these elements combine to create a truly magnificent piece of jewelry.
