Vintage Swarovski Crystals

I design one-of-a-kind vintage locket necklaces. Many have rare Swarovski crystals wire-wrapped throughout the chain. The green Swarovski crystals on this 1900's Embellished Locket Necklace accent the stone in the center of the locket. Other unique vintage locket necklaces are available at Vintage Rehab.  

Since 1895, Swarovski crystal beads have been made from the finest crystal lead glass, cut and ground with such precision that they sparkle as brilliantly as diamonds.  The brilliance comes from the light bouncing off internal surfaces in the lead crystal.  In the 1950's Swarovski crystals were very popular. Competitive jewelry designers, such as Weiss, Coro, Trifari, Lisser, Capri, Napier and Royal of Pittsburg commissioned Daniel Swarovski to produce exclusive beads for them. 

Many colors, shapes and sizes of vintage Swarovski crystals were discontinued because they were to expensive to mass-produce. Collectible colors, such as mink, purple givre, scarabee, joulan, elestria dark, carousel, fantasy, ghost, dark sunburst, ambrosia, cognac, joulet, cinnamon, honey, meadow, sarnell, sun and steel have not been made in decades. Vintage Swarovski beads are also uncommon because of their size and shape, including the oval, octagon, disco balls and the pagoda.