Discuss the different methods of adding some bling to your designs. Rhinestone and rhinestud transfers, templates, equipment, software and supplies are inlcuded in this forum.
just out of curiosity I looked up swarovski crystal on wikipedia and it says that they are 32% lead to maximize refraction. Can anybody elaborate on this as I know for a fact lead is very bad for you, how do they get around it being safe to handle unprotected and for common uses like clothing decoration? Thanks anybody if you can help me out, I just very curious to learn more about this.
Last edited by SketchBox; April 24th, 2008 at 10:10 AM.
I've been looking around for more info and it seems to be a common practice in the manufacturing of high quality crystal to use lead for added refraction. Still dont know why it is considered safe, I think it might have something to do with the melting and mixing processes with the glass that makes it less likely to release from the crystal. I have stummbled apon a shocking health statement about lead crytal and beverage serving uses. Dont ever store anything in a lead crystal container its bad as heck.
what about leeching onto your hands from the stones and then from your hands to something you do put in your mouth? I dont get how this stones dont come with a large warning.
you got to be kidding...I don't walk around hold a handful of crystals...I just put'em on garments...with all the lead around from the old days in paint we touch etc..and I, for one, have a lot more things to worry about...like the price of gas/food...but then we all have to worry about something...Why not contact your government representative in Canada and see what they say..or check with medical authorities or anyone else with credentials... so now I am off my soap box...'nuff said
ha thats classic. The lead would be the backing smashed between glass crystal and adhesive. dont be scared to wear that "blinged" up shirt, go ahead live a little
I think that there is a lot more hazardous things in the air we breath with constant exposure than what little bit of lead that may be found in crystal stones.
I doubt there is much danger in the crystals-unless you are going to consume them. I just spent the last 2 hours sitting here placing them on my designs. They never touched my hands. They are placed with long tweezers. Picked from a dish - Never touch them when applied to the shirs either. Not worried about lead problems
I used to chew on pencils as a kid, I outgrew the oral fixation, but I know many people alive and well that still do it, some have moved on to pens though.
you got to be kidding...I don't walk around hold a handful of crystals...I just put'em on garments...with all the lead around from the old days in paint we touch etc..and I, for one, have a lot more things to worry about...like the price of gas/food...but then we all have to worry about something...Why not contact your government representative in Canada and see what they say..or check with medical authorities or anyone else with credentials... so now I am off my soap box...'nuff said
If your reply is gonna be nothing more than a ranting putdown, do us all a favor, be mature and keep it to yourself.
As far as lead in the crystal is concerned....have you ever had a glass of wine or champagne from a really nice piece of stemware? If it wasn't just plain glass, it was crystal and all crystal stemware (even the really high end stuff like Waterford) comes with a small warning sticker that it contains lead. You really aren't going to get any appreciable lead contamination from drinking out of a crystal goblet. Infants and toddlers who eat paint chips containing lead is a different situation. They are actually consuming the item and then digesting it.
Centuries ago people used lead and pewter to make goblets to drink from. There were adverse concequenses because of the purity of the lead. During the same time, metalurgists that were trying to get rich quick by turning lead into gold were constantly handling lead, inhaling molten lead vapors, getting ground lead on their hands (and probably licking their fingers) and other heavy metals such as mercury.
As far as eating pencils as a child, even though the portion of the pencil that makes the mark is "called" lead, it is, in fact graphite.
aaah nick....true but the paint that was used in the past, yellows, reds, blues..etc, often had lead in them in the ole days!...any yes I chewed the hell out of them during tests!...so far no apparent damage unless one can say the lead altered my good looks into what I look like today!
what about leeching onto your hands from the stones and then from your hands to something you do put in your mouth? I dont get how this stones dont come with a large warning.
You don't wash your hands before you eat?
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Swarovski crystals contain lead? 
Re: Swarovski crystals contain lead? 
