It gets really confusing for people shopping on eBay for Swarovski Crystals. There are the Swarovski Registered Figurines for the collector. These registered figurines demand high prices for the workmanship.
Then you have the vast designs from Swarovski in crystal chandelier components. This is a whole different department at the Swarovski Factory in Austria. When a chandelier component has the SS insignia inside, it guarantees at least 30% lead content. The lead FREE chandelier components are from the Swarovski SPECTRA line. This lead free line does not carry the SS insignia.
When you inspect the Swarovski Strass chandelier crystals and components that are full lead with the SS insignia etched inside, signifying the lead content and the maker, Swarovski Strass, you will see that the insignia usually appears close to where the hole is on the component.
Swarovski also produces a full Spectra line. The Spectra line consists of chandelier components that are lead free. They do not carry the SS insignia reserved for the heavily leaded crystal components, but have the same quality of workmanship. A lead free component does not have the same shine as a leaded component.
The Swarovski Strass and the Swarovski Spectra lines are both designed with the fine quality cuts and designs of the registered figurines. They are purchased at a fraction of the cost of registered and retired figurine costs.
Swarovski also offers a high heat baked on coating called aurora borealis that produces high color and shine in the chandelier components. Included in the baked on finishes is the vitrail line. These surfaces often have the magenta color quality with spectacular effects. You must be very careful with these baked on finishes as they scratch easily. You cannot used harsh compounds on these surfaces to clean. Only water and mild soap work with a very soft cloth.
The vast line of sun catchers that are sold worldwide are simply the individual chandelier components strung for hanging in a window, office, car or ?? of your choice. They bring hours of enjoyment and are very beautiful.
Please check out RosansBeads on eBay for a sample of these gorgeous cut crystals. I hope this has helped you identify the various Swarovski crystals sold on eBay.
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