Paying big bucks for cheap crystals

Okay I know this is one that I should know but I cannot get my brain
around this - what is the difference between a gem crystal and a
piece of coloured glass, especially when I see people being told that
the red stones are ruby crystals is there such a thing? It seems to
be the rage up here and people are paying big bucks for what I
thought were cheap crystals (of course I could not afford to purchase
on to test so I don’t know) anyone know?

Thanks your Canadian Friend Leslie

not sure i understand your questions but:

Quartz crystals are natural crystals, swarovski crystals are leaded
glass called crystals and sold at a premium because they are a
branded item with a major budget for advertising and of a high
quality- there are other makers that rival that quality though-
Austrian crystals for example (rhinestones), the so called ruby
crystals are probably swarovski, though the packaging or dealer
would probably list that on a label, so it may have been a chezch
crystal as there are a lot of them on the market- all of the above
are man made. quartz is natural crystal material that can be treated
to be perceived as various colours. Full lead crystal that you may
buy or have received as a wedding gift, is man made as well, though
can come in brilliant colours as the various chemicals are added to
what is essentially glass with varying amounts of chromium,
magnesium, cobalt, and other elements added to give it colour that
resembles jewel tones, or to imitate natural materials like amethyst,
ruby, peridot, sapphire, etc…then there are cubic zirconia crystals
that are as brilliant when cut as diamonds and have similar
properties of hardness, etc- they are cheap to produce and come in
various colours imitating the natural stones that they are designed
to imitate…When it comes down to the end, its all about marketing
regarding simulated stones, and the advertising behind them-Swarovski
for instance is internationally sought after and is, under the
management of the third generation of that family adding new products
to their line and introducing, or rather placing their name all over
runways from Milan to Marakesh- so they are at a premium compared to
the mass produced, but more brilliant cz’s that are sold rather
generically. then there are another category of simulated natural
stones like Chatham emeralds, and Moisaanite that are simply
overpriced and many times flawed man-made substitutes for the real
thing ( their guaranty’s show their problematic nature and possible
breakage depending on the lot in question and it’s variables in the
production of the material- in a word, they are not worth the money
they cost in comparison to the real thing- whatever precious stone
they are supposed ot imitate).

I hope that clarifies it for you to some degree. There are alot more
detailed explanations that have to do with a mineral’s cleavage and
crystalline structure but I think you just want to know about beads
and the differenceds in their naming and costs…

rer