We've carried Swarovski crystals since the late 1970's, so the news that Swarovski is leaving the DIY market came as quite a shock. However, this news is also allowing us to branch out and discover beautiful, nicely priced alternatives. No two manufacturers are identical, and you will see color and style differences between these luxury crystal brands.

Each crystal manufacturer has slightly different names for their colors, or slightly different colors for their names. Preciosa's rose is slightly peachier than Swarovski's rose, and the various shades of topaz, while all lovely, do not compare directly from one manufacturer to the other.

Have you seen Swarovski's LacquerPro colors? The LacquerPro family is a little bit more fragile, but it has some very cool coatings and effects that give a very different look... including the Electric colors, which are UV-responsive and glow under black light!