This is an extremely basic guide to some of the materials used in Jewelry and accessories! The main reason I put this together (Information was mainly gathered from wikipedia) was because I am so tired of seeing more and more sellers being dishonest in regards to the materials in their product. It seems many sellers have no scruples about naming anything that looks like a crystal as a Swarovski crystal. This isn't fair to the buyer. Having said that the buyer must act responsibly themselves. If an item is extremely cheap and the seller is claiming it is made from expensive materials such as Swarovski's then the potential buyer should obviously act a bit more cautiously and maybe think before entering that bid straight away!

I hope the information below helps and although very basic, I hope it makes a good starting point in providing some keywords for your own searches! Google or Wikipedia could be great starting points!

The most common diamond simulants are high-leaded glass (i.e., rhinestones) and cubic zirconia (CZ), both artificial materials. A number of other artificial materials, such as strontium titanate and synthetic rutile have been developed since the mid 1950s, but these are no longer in common use. Introduced at the end of the 20th century, the artificial product moissanite has gained popularity as a supposedly superior diamond simulant, although its much higher cost and limited production have kept it a relatively minor simulant in the jewelry marketplace.

A rhinestone or paste is a diamond simulant made from rock crystal, glass or acrylic. Originally, rhinestones were rock crystals gathered from the river Rhine, but their availability was greatly increased when the Alsatian jeweller Georg Friedrich Strass had the idea to coat the lower side of glass with metal powder around 1775, imitating diamonds. Hence, rhinestones are called Strass in many European languages.

Rhinestones make excellent imitations of diamonds, and good manufacturers even capture the glistening effect that real diamonds have in the sun.

In 1955, the "Aurora Borealis" or "Aqua aura", a thin, vacuum-sputtered metallic coating applied to crystal stones to produce an iridescent effect, was introduced. Aurora Borealis tends to reflect whatever color is worn near it, and it is named after the Aurora Borealis atmospheric phenomenon, also known as the Northern Lights.

In the past, crystal rhinestones have been primarily used on costumes, apparel and jewelry. Now days you can find beautiful custom crystallized items on eBay, such as cell phones, iPods and other mp3 players, earbuds, and flip flops. Crystal rhinestones are produced mainly in Austria by Swarovski.

Swarovski crystal was born when Benhan-born Daniel Swarovski invented an automatic cutting machine in 1892. In 1895 the Swarovski company was founded when he established a crystal cutting factory in Wattens. Here he could take advantage of local hydroelectricity for the energy-intensive grinding processes he had patented.

Swarovski crystal contains approximately 32% lead to maximize refraction. The Swarovski Crystal range includes crystal sculptures and miniatures, jewelry and couture, home decor and chandeliers. They also sell beads and rhinestones, encouraging other manufacturers, artists and consumers to create their own designs.

In order to create a crystal that allows light to refract in a rainbow spectrum, Swarovski coats some of its crystals with special metallic chemical coatings. Aurora Borealis, or "AB", is one of the most popular coatings, and gives the surface a rainbow oil slick appearance. Other coatings include Crystal Transmission, Volcano, Aurum, and Dorado. Coatings may be applied to only part of an object; others are coated twice, and thus are designated AB 2X, Dorado 2X etc.