Click here for a Swarovski colour chart of crystals and pearls

or click here to order samples

What is the difference between plain clear and AB crystals?

Plain clear crystals are the same as the glass you see in lead crystal cut glass used for wine glasses etc. Because I use only  Swarovski they have excellent clarity and sparkle.

AB (aurora borealis) crystals have had a coating applied to them by Swarovski which make them very sparkly indeed and they pick up surrounding colours.

What is the difference between Freshwater and Faux pearls?

Freshwater pearls, because they are a natural product, vary in size, shape and colour, whereas Swarovski pearls are man made and so always consistent in size and colour and perfectly round.

Swarovski pearls are the best man made pearls available - they have the look and weight, (but not the price!)  of a perfect round real pearl.

Freshwater pearls are those for the bride who want the real thing and more character in her jewellery or tiara. I pick freshwater pearls which have a good bridal colour and buy them in small batches so the product photo you will see in the shop will be made with the pearls I currently have in stock.

Apart from colour and shape - generally freshwater pearls are less shiny, softer looking than the glass pearls. I have tried to capture the colours in the photo below - Swarovski ivory pearls are darker and more yellow than freshwater. Samples of both can be ordered if you are unsure which would suit best.

From top to bottom:

Swarovski ivory (creamrose light) pearls

Light ivory freshwater pearls

Very pale ivory freshwater pearls

Swarovski white pearls

What about mixing Freshwater and Swarovski pearls?

Personally, I wouldn't recommend mixing them as the character of each is totally different. The exception would be freshwater pearl stud earrings which because they are small and separated from other items are perfectly acceptable to go with other items made with either Swarovski ivory or white pearls.

Which Swarovski pearls will go best with my dress?

There are 4 shades of white/ivory/cream pearls to choose from -  the lightest to the darkest:

White (not a bleached white - nice white)

Light creamrose (generally matches an ivory gown)

Creamrose (deeper and with a very slight warm pinkish hue)

Cream (deeper and with a cooler yellowish tint)

If you want an exact match, I would recommend ordering a sample pack of colours as colour names of fabrics vary from one manufacturer to another and monitor colours are not reliable enough to match colours

Silver and Gold - what is the difference between plate, sterling silver gold filled and gold vermeil?

Silver and gold plate are thin layers of silver or gold over a base metal, often copper. Relatively low cost but as the plating is thin it will wear off with use.

Sterling silver, sometimes called solid silver, is an alloy of 92.5% fine silver and 7.2% of another metal to make it durable and useable. On components large enough - the stamp 925 will be seen. More expensive than silver plate but top quality.

Gold filled, sometimes called rolled gold, contains a much higher percentage of gold than gold plate - 100 times more, and so will give much better lasting jewellery - considered to be a lifetime product. The larger components will be stamped to show they are gold filled. More expensive than gold plate but far superior in quality.

Gold vermeil, pronounce "vermay" is sterling silver coated with either 22K or 24K gold. More expensive than gold plate but much better quality.

Most decorations can be made onto a variety of bases - a tiara band, a handmade wire band, a comb, hair pins or hair grips (kirby grips)

Pin at the top, usually for up-does
Grip or kirby grip at the bottom, usually for hair worn down

The most important thing to consider is your bridesmaids hair - and what style she will wear on the day - this will determine which base will fix securely into her hair and look good.

If she has long hair and will be wearing it up a hairdresser can fix most bases securely into the hair. But if she has short hair or long hair which is very shiny and straight, or if a little girl has very little hair - please consider what base will best suit to stay in the hair.

The colour part is the easy bit - with loads of Swarovski crystal and pearl colours to choose from, there's bound to be some to match or contrast with your bridesmaids dresses.

Next is the design - choose a design of spray which will look good on your bridesmaids and suits their dress style.

Size of spray is another consideration - I offer 3 standard sizes - an adult size (generally suits age 8/9 up) a flower girl size (generally suits 3 - 8/9 year olds) and a tots size ( for the very young) .Age is not so important as size - a big child of 9 years can be bigger than a small adult! A small child of 8 could have very big hair and need a larger spray to look in proportion.

Our products have been designed and manufactured by Beady Eyes using components manufactured by D Swarovski & Co. Swarovski is a registered trademark of Swarovski AG. There is no relationship between any Swarovski company and Beady Eyes.