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Tue 3 Jun, 2008 07:20 pm
Hi. I am trying to research and find out what are the chemical and physical properties of rhinestone? Are the the same as those of rock crystal?
Please let me know.
Today almost all rhinestones are made of hard, highly reflective glass. In the past, when "rhinestone" designated small pieces of crystal made to imitate precious gemstones, they were made from pieces of clear quartz: SiO2
Hardness: 7.0 on Moh's Scale
Index of refraction: 1.544-1.553
Birefringence: 0.009
Streak: White
Spec. Grav.: 2.5 - 2.7
Crystal: Hexagonal (prisms, pyramidal)
Fracture: Conchoidal
Cleavage : none
Tenacity: Brittle
As for glass rhinestones, they can be made from a variety of compound mixtures that may include, SiO2, Na2O, B2O3, Al2O3, CaO, K2O, BaO, Fe2O3, MgO and ZnO. And, of course, the physical properties of glass varies with its composition.
Dr Huff wrote:Today almost all rhinestones are made of hard, highly reflective glass. In the past, when "rhinestone" designated small pieces of crystal made to imitate precious gemstones, they were made from pieces of clear quartz: SiO2
Hardness: 7.0 on Moh's Scale
Index of refraction: 1.544-1.553
Birefringence: 0.009
Streak: White
Spec. Grav.: 2.5 - 2.7
Crystal: Hexagonal (prisms, pyramidal)
Fracture: Conchoidal
Cleavage : none
Tenacity: Brittle
As for glass rhinestones, they can be made from a variety of compound mixtures that may include, SiO2, Na2O, B2O3, Al2O3, CaO, K2O, BaO, Fe2O3, MgO and ZnO. And, of course, the physical properties of glass varies with its composition.
Thank you-what did you base this information on?
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