Rhinestones are your best friend when you make dance costumes. But it can be overwhelming to know which one to buy.
I often buy rhinestones from Dreamtime Creations. and since I was buying some rhinestones for a project the other day, I thought to buy one of different brands to compare the quality and colours and share my observations with you.
Watch it in video or scroll down to read 🙂
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Preciosa vs Swarovski rhinestones
So the major crystal rhinestone brands are swarovski and preciosa. Swarovski is an Austrian based company and Preciosa is a Czech company. They are both well-known for high-quality crystals.
Here we have 14mm sew-on rivoli rhinestones. The left one is Swarovski and the right one is Preciosa.
They both have amazing sparkles and great depth of shine. These are both crystal AB, and the Swarovski one appears to show more blue and green, whereas the Preciosa one appears more pink and purple.
It’s hard to show on camera, but when you look at them really close up, the Swarovski rhinestone appears to be clearer which creates deeper and more intricate shine, but overall, both are great quality, consistent, all the thread holes and facets have nice, clean edges.
Price wise, for these rivolis, they are very similar as well at Dreamtime Creations. The Preciosa is $1.45 each and the Swarovski is $1.35 each as of April 27, 2016.
But depending on what you get, for example crystal beads and rhinestones, and especially for rhinestone chains, one can be a lot more expensive than the other, and the prices may vary. So it’s best to always compare prices.
Vs. Spark rhinestones
I noticed Dreamtime Creations is carrying another rhinestone brand now, called Spark.
Here we have the same size Spark rivoli in same colour. If you look at Spark rhinestones on their own, these are pretty nice and sparkly, and have a good balance of the rainbow colours.
But when you compare a Spark stone with Swarovski and Preciosa, the difference is huge. The finish of the Spark rhinestone is not as clean and sharp as the other 2, and the depth of shine is much, much deeper for Swarovski and Preciosa. And the thread holes of the Spark rhinestones are not as clean. Spark crystals have inconsistency in finish and quality for sure.
And the differences are reflected in the prices. This Spark rivoli is $0.44 each whereas the Preciosa and Swarovski were $1.45 and $1.35 – 3x more expensive.
Where to Buy Rhinestones
There are many vendors that sell Swarovski rhinestones. Even smaller bead shops carry a limited selection of Swarovski.
I find Preciosa rhinestones are harder to find. But since both brands make beautiful rhinestones and prices differ for different rhinestones, I like to check both online when I’m shopping.
And the quality differences I showed in this video are only visible when you look at them on the palm of your hand. When I stand a few meters away from them, it’s really hard to tell the difference.
So if your budget is tight, you could try Spark rhinestones, or go for Spark for small rhinestones and invest in Swarovski or Preciosa for large rhinestones that show more.
Either way, right now my favourite place to buy rhinestones is Dreamtime Creations. Here are the links to the rhinestones shown in this post:
Hope this comparison was useful, and if you liked it, share it with your dancer friends! And if you want to see more dance costuming DIY’s and things, sign up for the Sparkly Belly newsletter below.
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Thanks for reading, and keep sparkling! 😉
P.S. Pin the below image as a reminder for next time you buy rhinestones!
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