Strass, rhinestone and diamond - what unites them? (11 photos)

He once lived in the small town of Wolfisheim, which is on the shore Reina, a jeweler. Not the luckiest and richest, for in such a place to develop a jewelry business is such an occupation. But it turned out that a brilliant idea not only helped the guy get rich, but also gave an opportunity for a lot of not-so-wealthy girls (and guys too) feel rich, live in style and shine.





The Alsatian Georg Friedrich Strass (1701-1772) decided that something to do with a semi-poor existence. And an idea came to him. What brought her on? Unknown. Either a brilliant ray of the setting sun, then or the dimly shining poker by the fireplace. But Strass decided to experiment with cheap materials and create cheap but beautiful stones from them. Artificial. And he began experiments with glass, in which added different metals.



Wolfisheim





During the experiments, Strass used a variety of additives - iron, thallium, potassium, lead and more. And received wide ersatz stones color palette. The glass came out so clean and transparent that after cutting, fake diamonds shone brighter than real ones. A creative the jeweler came up with another idea and fix them on a piece of foil, which is even more enhanced the shine.



Clients poured into Georg's workshop in a tangible stream. Like profits into the pockets of a man determined to make luxury affordable. But this was not enough, because Strass wanted solid profits.

What do you need to do to sell something you don't need? Not no buy this most unnecessary, and then sell. We need to make it trendy. AND then even those who have not needed it for a hundred years will be drawn to the trendy garbage.



Louis XV

And who is the trendsetter in the country? At that moment in time France, such a person was the Marquise de Pompadour - the official favorite King Louis XV. The king promoted asceticism, and the woman wanted clothes, entertainment and jewelry. Which, I must say, pierced tangible gap in the treasury.



Marquise de Pompadour

And the appearance of Strass with a proposal from which it is impossible was to refuse, it was necessary at the right time. Favorite received glass glitters, indistinguishable from real ones, in unlimited quantity, the king - relative calm and budget savings, and Strass - the position of the court jeweler, status and fortune.



Playing with glass pebbles allowed him to practice what you love and retire at just over 50. De Pompadour made his handicrafts fashionable, and the queue of those wishing to purchase them for cheap did not run out.



So Strass went down in history. And his invention - rhinestones, named after the creator, continue to be actively used to this day day in a variety of fields, from the jewelry industry and ending with dentistry.