Swarovski Finishes, Part 1

There are almost an endless supply of great colors and styles from Swarovski®. This is to help explain some of the great finishes Swarovski® makes and some unique things to be looking for when searching for Swarovski® Crystal Beads in different finishes and effects.

Swarovski® Crystal Bead Finishes & Effects, Part 1

Swarovski® Crystal produces finishes in three to four different types in large production quantities.  Other finishes and effect will be included in the next posting and are produced in smaller quantities.  The color, or regular finish, the AB, AB-2X, and the SATIN.  There can also be many combinations (as shown in the color above CRYSTAL AB SATIN) and limited production or vintage beads that we will discuss in the next post.

1. COLOR (regular finish) - these are the crystals most of us are familiar with.  They come in a large variety of colors, sizes, and shapes (or components).  Some popular colors include LIGHT SIAM, PERIDOT, ROSE, and many more.  The regular colors are staples in Swarovski Crystal (also known as Austrian Crystal), and can usually be found on a color chart from your seller.  The color finish beads can be found in the plain color and also a light version but keep in mind, not all colors have a corresponding light version that is being produced.  An example of this would be EMERALD and LIGHT EMERALD.
   
   
   5301 Cobalt Blue color
   
   
2. AB (aurora borealis) - this finish is where a color has been coated with a finish called AB.  The AB finish is an outside coating on an existing crystal color that covers about half of the crystal face.  When you turn the crystal you will see the crystal color on one side and the AB finish on the other.  If the crystal has many surfaces like the SPACERS (5040's) the reflection will appear as you turn the crystal.  The reflection is best described as a rainbow effect as you turn the bead.
   
   As with the light color, the AB's are not made in all colors and some are only produced for a short period of time and then not again.  Some current examples of the AB finishes are: KHAKI AB, TURQUOISE AB (as seen below), and FUCHSIA AB.  These AB finishes are a little more expensive than the color crystals because of the extra process they go through during production, but they have a brilliant shine to them.
   
   
   5301 Turquoise AB
   
   
3. AB-2X (aurora borealis, two times) - this finish can be described as a two times coating of the AB.  As I mentioned above, the AB is a finish on about half of the crystal.  The AB-2X covers the entire crystal, and is the same outside coating of an original color just as the AB.  These, like the AB are not made in all colors and sizes.  This is a more rare type of finish than the AB and is also more expensive than the AB.  An example of a crystal made in all three; color, AB, and AB-2X would be a color like the FUCHSIA AB 2X but there are many more.
   
   
   5301 Garnet AB 2X
   
   
4. SATIN - the SATIN finish is a very unique looking type of color and it may or may not qualify as a finish by some.  This is not a coating on the outside of the crystal, but rather a deeper, more saturated look, that is produced by Swarovski when the crystal is manufactured.  Using the same example as above, the FUCHSIA SATIN color is also made in this unique finish.
   
   
   5301 Peridot SATIN

These of course are not all of the finishes and effects that Swarovski® makes and we will cover those in detail in another posting. Each attribute to the bead gives it a very unique look for watch for those different finishes.

Coming Soon:


• Swarovski Crystal Beads, Finishes & Effects, Part 2 (effects and combinations of each)
• Swarovski Crysatl Beads, Finishes & Effects, Part 3 (special production items, limited or vintage)
• Am I buying a real Swarovski Crystal or not?