Rhinestone History

Originally, rhinestones were rock crystals gathered from the river Rhine, hence the name, although some were also found in areas like the Alps (the source of the Rhine). Today, the name rhinestone applies only to varieties of lead glass known as crystal glass. The availability of such products increased greatly in the 18th century when the Alsatian jeweler Georg Friedrich Strass (1701-1773) developed imitation diamonds by coating the lower side of lead glass with metal powder. Many European languages use the word "strass" (or equivalent) to refer to rhinestones.

Unlike classic rhinestones, which had a metal-powder coating on the bottom side only, several companies have chosen to mass-produce iridescent lead glass by reducing the metal-coating thickness and applying it uniformly. They do not use metal powder with a binder but apply various forms of metal deposition (thin foil, vapor deposition, etc.). These developments include Favrile glass by Tiffany in 1894, Carnival glass under the name Iridrill by Fenton in 1908, Aurora Borealis glass by Swarovski in 1956, and PVD-coated dichroic glass in the late 20th century, among many other decorative lead glasses coated with a thin metal layer and sold under various commercial names such as rainbow glass and aurora glass.

Rhinestones can be used as imitations of diamonds, and some manufacturers even manage to partially reproduce the glistening effect that real diamonds have in the sun.

Crystal rhinestones are typically used on costumes, apparel, and jewelry. They are mainly produced in Austria by Swarovski and in the Czech Republic by Preciosa and a few other glassworks in northern Bohemia. In the United States, these are sometimes known as Austrian crystal.

The rhinestone-studded Nudie suit was invented by Nudie Cohn in the 1940s