Costume Jewellery

Costume Jewellery (also sometimes called Fashion Jewellery) is jewellery that is made with less valuable materials such as base metals, glass, acrylic and synthetic stones instead of precious metals like silver and gold and gem stones like diamonds. As a result it is less expensive but can still look like a million dollars.

Crystal and Diamante

You will often see stones described as crystal or diamante. To be defined as crystal, the glass must contain at least 10% lead oxide which helps give it its brilliance and clarity and makes it easier to cut.

One of the top crystal makers is the Austrian firm of Swarovski and their crystals contain approximately 32% lead oxide. Another top class crystal maker is Preciosa in the Czech Republic.

A special type of crystal is the "AB" or Aurora Borealis crystal which is specially coated to give an iridescent rainbow effect and they pick up the colours of whatever they are worn against.

Diamante, Rhinestone or Strass are generic terms for crystals and the stones are often backed with a silver reflector to increase the brilliance and sparkle.

Cubic Zirconia

Cubic Zirconia (abbreviated to CZ) is a manufactured gemstone cut to simulate a diamond and it has similar reflective properties.

Compared to a diamond, a Cubic Zirconia is almost twice as heavy but it is not as hard as a diamond.