Limited Rare Swarovski

One of our specialities in crystal beads is with the limited, rare, or out of production Swarovski® crystal beads. Because we only carry Swarovski® beads we try to stock a much larger selection than other online shops and one of the ways we do that is with items that are harder to find.

Swarovski® will start and stop production of bead colors all the time so a color that you might have been buying for some time might all of sudden become quite hard to find. These are called out of production colors. Each month we place a large order with Swarovski® for items that are specifically out of production. These come right from Austria (usually takes a few weeks to arrive) but sometimes these color can be out of production for years, Swarovski® just still has some in stock in Austria.

The #5000 FIRE OPAL SATIN above is an example of an out of production item. This color took us about 6 months to receive, but we only have a small number of crystal beads with that color and once they are gone we probably won't receive any more. In our store and on our ebay store we call these colors limited due to their availability but are sometimes also called rare crystal beads.

Some of these limited crystals can be very unique. They may have been produced specifically for a customer of Swarovski® on a short production run, so they tend to be the unique finishes, many are satin finishes that they have only produced once but look great. Two examples in the #5000 Rounds would be the HYACINTH SATIN and the WHITE OPAL SATIN 2X (only made in the 5mm round) which combines the SATIN finish and the 2X finish. [see more on finishes]

Don't confuse these unique and rare colors with finishes produced by third party companies (not by Swarovski® we discussed in an earlier post. [Real Crystal Bead Colors] As we talked about before, just get to know your seller. Most are very open about what they sell.

Another area that can be confusing to some is the use of the term vintage Swarovski® Crystal Beads which we will discuss in another post but in general these are crystal beads that Swarovski® produced many many years ago that are not being sold by the distributors but most are in the hands of collectors. Look for a production date or a photo of the original packaging from Swarovski.

For a search of all our current limited production inventory on our store click here and for a list of our limited items on ebay click here.

Crystal Bead Diagrams

We have now updated the crystal bead diagrams page to include the Crystal Bead Diamgram chart and we will always continue to add the diagrams for all of Swarovski® beads including the flat backs, hotfix, pendants, pearls, and the many other components that are made. Each cut is unique and even among the beads with the same "look" the cut can make a big difference in your finished bead piece.

For example, Swarovski® makes a "round" bead in a #5000 component and also in a #5025 component, and each have a very different cut to them.

The diagram charts are useful for seeing the exact cut of the crystal. Some of the Swarovski® components can get quite complicated and the diagram chart can be very useful. The newest component releases from Swarovski® are included like the new 5523 COSMIC, which we will have on our store very soon, and the increasingly popular 5020 HELIX and the 5310 SIMPLICITY (see photos above) beads which were released late last year.

We placed a small example of what the bead diagram cuts look like below, to see the full version just click on the small bead diagram chart below. At the bottom of that page you will see the diagram charts we are adding soon.

If you have any questions about the bead diagrams please let us know.

Bead Diagram Chart

Crystal Bead Color Charts

We have updated the color charts with the latest color releases from Swarovski® as of March 2006. The new Swarovski® color charts will include the CARIBBEAN BLUE OPAL and the effects color chart will include the new effect SILVER SHADE.

We have also included a few new color charts other than just the stone and effects chart. You can now see the crystal Pearl Color Chart, Pearl & Stone Color Chart Combinations, and also the popular Birthstone Color Chart. With the birthstone color chart we have included a quick search link for each month at the bottom of the chart.

Coming soon we will have the bead diagrams posted so you can see the specific cuts of each stone and the sizes each bead is produced in. Swarovski® Crystal Bead Color Charts

Real Crystal Bead Colors

Are you looking for those unique Swarovski® colors and every once in a while you come across a few Swarovski® bead colors that are just so unique no one else has them or has ever heard of them? There are a few explanations for this but it took a few years for me to get a grasp on what exactly I was looking at.

These "new" crystal bead colors (I am specifically referring to Swarovski® crystal beads only) show up and disappear on the web often, and it is nothing new. Right now there are a few "new" colors that I have seen like BRANDY, CHILI PEPPER, and ROSE GOLD to name a few. These three in particular are of course not new color releases by Swarovski®. They crystals are ones that have been finished by a third party company.

That does not necessarily mean that they are not crystal beads that rolled off the Swarovski® line (could be, might not be, who knows) but they are definitely not (in their present state) completed by Swarovski® in Austria. I am only presenting this information to make those aware that it is important to know who you are buying from and where their stock comes from.

Swarovski® DOES release new colors (usually one color and one effect) every season or every other season. So about 2-3 times a year Swarovski® will release a new color. These colors are fairly easy to see as there is always a lot of fan fair with a new crystal bead color release.

This Spring/Summer release by Swarovski® in the loose beads area (includes Beads, Pearls, Pendants, Hot Fix, etc) was (see photos below) CARIBBEAN BLUE OPAL and the effect CRYSTAL SILVER SHADE. These were the only two color and effect releases for the Spring/Summer 2006. So any other bead color names I would check into closely before purchasing if having a genuine Swarovski® is really important.

      

I will post more on this topic later. When purchasing Swarovski® Crystal Beads just make sure the company is either a Swarovski® 5-Star Distributor or buys from one. If they refuse to answer the question it would raise a red flag, to me anyway.

Colored Rhondelles

We just received good news from Swarovski ®. It has been a long time coming but the COLORED RHONDELLES are now being produced and shipped by Swarovski® in Austria. These are very unique and we have had an ongoing order for these if they were produced for over a year now.

Availability may by another issue but for now we know they are being produced. The sizes right now are only in the 6mm but the current colors are (in groupings of like colors):

LIGHT AMETHYST
AMETHYST
TANZANITE

LIGHT SAPPHIRE
SAPPHIRE
AQUAMARINE

SIAM
FUCHSIA
ROSE

EMERALD
OLIVINE
PERIDOT

TOPAZ

CRYSTAL
JET

If you are not familiar with the Rhondelles they are a base metal used like a spacer between #5000 rounds or #5301 bicones (or something of the like) and have Swarovski® Crystals around them. There is always some confusion as to where they are produced, but the crystals are Swarovski ®, where the base metals are sometimes made by a third party company.

I will post an update when more information is availble on when these might be in stock.

Happy Beading,
Pieces of the Past

Crystal Beads Blog

Welcome to the Crystal Beads Blog. We will be updating this blog with current information about beading and bead crafts along with Swarovski Crystal Bead releases and updates. We hope you enjoy the site, please contact us if you have any questions at all. Thanks, Pieces of the Past