Whats the difference between the Czech Republic beads and Austrian beads?
to top of page The faceted beads from the Czech Republic can be either fire polished or machine cut. Firepolished: Firepolishing uses heat to finish the beads and is less costly than the precision machine cut. The refractance of the bead is less for the edges are less sharp. It still produces a beautiful bead. Firepolished beads are produced in the Czech Republic. Machine-Cut: In Wattens, a small town in Austria stands the Swarovski factory, which has been there for ages. Swarovski was the first to perfect the production of machine-cut faceted beads and stones. This gives the beads extremely sharp edges on each facet with exact calibration of measurements to give the facets the maximum sparkle and refractance of light. Czech factories, in recent years, have also produced machine-cut faceted beads. They are said to be identical. One of the main differences between machine-cut faceted beads from the Czech Republic and the Swarovski crystal beads are the varied styles and colors produced
