A: The primary factors in delayed processing are different billing and shipping addresses and the use of visa card. If you plan on having your order shipped to a location that is different from your billing address, we encourage the use of TT or Western Union.

A: The back of a Hot Fix crystal has a layer of hot-melt adhesive which is activated by using heat. This adhesive bonds with the carrier material when it cools down.

A: Rather than attempt to insert a treatise on this topic here, we would like to summarize by saying that a rhinestone is a crystal simulant made from rock crystal, glass or acrylic. Originally, rhinestones were rock crystals gathered from the Rhine river in Austria. The availability was greatly increased when around 1775 the Alsatian jeweller Georg Friedrich Strass (de:Georg Friedrich Strass, from Straßburg) had the idea to imitate diamonds by coating the lower side of glass with metal powder. Hence, rhinestones are called Strass in many European languages. Rhinestones make excellent imitations of diamonds, and good manufacturers even capture the glistening effect that real diamonds have in the sun.

A: There are 144 pieces in a gross, regardless of the product. Some of our items packed by counting machinery, others by weight. The machinery and scales are calibrated often, however, your package may still be over or under by two to three stones per gross.

A: Crystal (often known as Crystal Clear) is completely colorless. A Crystal (clear) bead is completely transparent. On a Crystal (clear) rhinestone, you can clearly see the foil on the back. Crystal AB, on the other hand, uses the same base stone or bead, but has an added coating which reflects many different colors, primarily gold, blue and pink.