What gives Swarovski crystal beads that unique shine? Is that lead?
No. Swarovski coats many of its beads with different special coatings to give the surfaces of their crystal beads different shimmers and colors. One of the more common coatings is called AB or “Aurora Borealis” and it is applied to many of the Swarovski crystal beads. There are many types of coatings and the coatings can be applied in different amounts and even on different parts of the crystal beads to really make a unique piece of crystal. What does Swarovski say about lead in their crystal beads? I wrote to Swarovski asking them about the safety of lead in their crystal beads. A very nice woman named Bianca wrote me back and gave me what appears to be an “official” statement from Swarovski: Recently, there has been an increased regulatory focus on potential human exposure to lead from various consumer products, including jewellery. Crystal has unique properties. The crystal manufacturing process creates a matrix which inhibits the mobility of lead. In other words, lead is bound into
