Thread: What is your opinion about Preciosa crystals?

I am considering using Preciosa crystals instead of Swarovski. The quality of stones is the same as swarovski. Preciosa is the only competitor of the Swarovski regarding the quality, and their stones really look great, they are affordable but... Everybody is using Swarovski. Would you ladies buy costume with Preciosa crystals instead of Swarovski? I am very curious about your opinion.

Here is the link for the web page of Preciosa company:

Genuine Czech Crystal - Preciosa

I think they are fine, no problem at all. I have used both and there is no difference in quality that I could see. I'm sure a lot of people just use the name 'swarovski' instead of 'crystal' anyway.

I have not heard of these. They look really nice. Thanks for posting.

Yes, they look great and the company has very long tradition and highest quality. Unfortunatelly they are so not so famous as Swarovski.
Last week I sent them an e-mail and ask about some sizes of crystals that were not available in e-shop at the moment and two people from the company wrote me back and offered a custom production of small series of crystals based on my specifications. I was surprised, I really did not expect something like this from such a big company.

Originally Posted by Luccia

Yes, they look great and the company has very long tradition and highest quality. Unfortunatelly they are so not so famous as Swarovski.
Last week I sent them an e-mail and ask about some sizes of crystals that were not available in e-shop at the moment and two people from the company wrote me back and offered a custom production of small series of crystals based on my specifications. I was surprised, I really did not expect something like this from such a big company.

Really! That's news. I've been looking for some hard to find crystals.

Preciosa is fantastic and I use them all the time. You will love them.

Luccia,
Every week I talk to the rhinestone importers and I will tell you the truth. No one is using swarovski anymore for designs that require a lot of stones. Everyone is using Preciosa, MB or knock offs from China which aren't bad at all. My importer is thinking of discontinuing their swarovski line. Most designers will say that they are using swarovski when they aren't. Every single designer I talk to says the same thing and so do the importers. Swarovski is too expensive and the China stones are pretty close in quality but not in weight.
I wish people would just call it crystal and not use the swarovski name at all unless they are 100% sure. Swarovski is at least 3 times more expensive than Preciosa in the USA.
Almost every egyptian designer costume I have been in contact with is covered in China stones. Not even Preciosa. I've talked about this in the past on some older threads.

Any good source for preciosa or chinese sew-on stones?

Thanks Eshta, I agree, I do not understand madness about expensive Swarovski. The price of Swarovski and Preciosa are probably same everywhere in the world, in Slovakia Swarovski is also 3 times more expensive than Preciosa and quality is the same.
Unfortunatelly in my country have no exporter of chinesse knock-offs. But ladies from European countries: do you have some good source in Europe? Shipping costs within Europe might be reasonable.

Luccia - I'd be happy to share with you my source since you are also a retailer. PM me if you want.

Originally Posted by eshtabellydance

Luccia - I'd be happy to share with you my source since you are also a retailer. PM me if you want.

Thank you Eshta it is very nice of you. Yes, I am retailer and I would love to PM you but unfortunatelly my PMs do not work... :) I am e-mailing you.

I was just looking at my bugle's in the catalog they are from precosia. They are nice- I haven't had my hands on many different types so I can't tell you from my "wealth of experience"- but they are nice.

Mostly uniform and consistent some of the edges are a bit chipped but hasn't stopped me yet!

Originally Posted by Luccia

Unfortunatelly in my country have no exporter of chinesse knock-offs. But ladies from European countries: do you have some good source in Europe? Shipping costs within Europe might be reasonable.

Hi Luccia, just would like to ask whether you already succeeded in finding some good source of chinese knock-offs in EU which you are willing to share with?

Originally Posted by MonikaMahreen

Hi Luccia, just would like to ask whether you already succeeded in finding some good source of chinese knock-offs in EU which you are willing to share with?

Hi Monika, no... Eshta provided me with her source in USA and I have promised her to keep it only for me and I am going to keep my faith. I can only tell you that their prices were same as prices of Preciosa in Czech Republic + shipping cost from US. I just made big order from Preciosa and I am expecting it today. I ordered from:

korálky, bi

I have searched chinesse knock-offs on internet and you can find them on e-bay. Prices of stones varied a lot within few months. Starting at about 10 Kč per huge stone in the summer up to 30 Kč in january. But including shipping it is again even more expensive then preciosa. I am sending you mail on FB with links on e-bay.

Originally Posted by Luccia

Hi Monika, no... Eshta provided me with her source in USA and I have promised her to keep it only for me and I am going to keep my faith. I can only tell you that their prices were same as prices of Preciosa in Czech Republic + shipping cost from US. I just made big order from Preciosa and I am expecting it today. I ordered from:

korálky, bi

I have searched chinesse knock-offs on internet and you can find them on e-bay. Prices of stones varied a lot within few months. Starting at about 10 Kč per huge stone in the summer up to 30 Kč in january. But including shipping it is again even more expensive then preciosa. I am sending you mail on FB with links on e-bay.

Totally understand. Thank you very much.