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REVIEW: Preciosa Czech Cut Crystals



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 14th 04, 02:51 AM
Marilee Murch
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Default REVIEW: Preciosa Czech Cut Crystals

Thank you Kathy, printed that out for reference!
Marilee

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  #2  
Old November 14th 04, 03:36 AM
Jalynne
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Default

This is wonderful to know, Kathy. I was very tempted to buy some of those Preciosa
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" wrote in message
. 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




  #3  
Old November 14th 04, 04:25 AM
Kaytee
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

In article news.com, Kathy
N-V 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/

  #4  
Old November 14th 04, 04:54 PM
Peggy
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Thanks so much for providing all this useful info, Kathy!




  #5  
Old November 15th 04, 02:19 AM
Kandice Seeber
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

This is a fabulous review - so much great information! Thank you Kathy. I
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


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






  #6  
Old November 15th 04, 02:23 AM
Kandice Seeber
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Oh - I was just looking at ebay for Preciosa and saw that a seller has some
that are cubes -Mimis Gems - here's a link to one of their cube auctions -

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...tem=4941680703

--
Kandice Seeber
Air & Earth Designs
http://www.lampwork.net



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.



 




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