Sometimes, expensive gemstones are not the right materials for a piece of jewelry. If you want a fun piece of jewelry, with plenty of sparkle but not plenty of cost, alternative materials can be in order. Crystals make an inexpensive, yet beautiful, substitution for many of today's gemstones – and sometimes, they can even be better than the real thing. The biggest name in crystals today, Swarovski, has built a jewelry following of its own.

Swarovski is a company that creates lead cut-glass crystals in a variety of shapes and sizes for different applications. Some of their crystals are quite large, and are made into decorative pieces and ornaments. Other crystals are small enough to be used in jewelry as well as for ornamentation on things like cellphones and other small devices. This sort of decoration is commonly known as “bling”, and the crystals are coveted by many teenage girls due to their popularity in Hollywood and movies.

Swarovski crystals were created in 1892 by Daniel Swarovski, when he devised a cutting machine that was able to easily facet lead glass. He founded the Swarovski company in 1895 and situated his factory near hydroelectric power, so that he could easily create cut glass masterpieces. All crystals produced by the company have 32% lead in them, so that the facets look more like real gems and less like cut glass. Swarovski has always produced a large line of these crystal items, from decorative pieces to rhinestones and crystal adornments, and even chandeliers.

Today, some of the most coveted Swarovski crystals are not those that are just cut, faceted and colored, but those that have additional coatings to make them look even more beautiful. One of these coatings is known as Aurora Borealis (after the Northern Lights). This coating allows light to reflect through the piece and create a rainbow shimmer – a look that is very popular with young girls and women today. Other coatings that add unique looks to the crystals are known as Volcano and Crystal Transmission. The company is also working with different types of cuts and facetings, including rose cuts and Chatons (diamond cut).

Finding a piece of jewelry you like only to realize it's outside your budget can be tough. With items like today's Swarovski crystals, you can easily have the jewelry of your dreams without having to pay thousands of dollars for expensive jewels and high end designer pieces.