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Swarovski rhinestones and beads can sometimes be dated by the packaging. This is a great site to explore the dating system.
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Shadow Jewels 001
Here are some interesting vintage Japanese glass stones. They are 18x13mm. You can see the foil that was used inside the bottom of the glass. The glass is a clear brown with red dots inside, lampworked. I thought they used gold foil at first, but after looking at the edges of the stones with a loupe, it appears to be silver. The brown glass makes it look gold. They look really cool under a loupe.
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Shadow Jewels 002
Here are some more typical cabs from Japan. These are Cherry Brand, prized for their beauty and quality. I found a very interesting article about Cherry Brand glass here
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Shadow Jewels 003
Some Cherry Brand beads have a label that says "made in occupied Japan" which would date them from 1945 to 1951 for the most part.
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Shadow Jewels 004
Some West German frosted or matte glass stones.
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Shadow Jewels 005
This is the oldest Swarovski package that i have~ the emblem on the front looks like a faceted crystal. I think it's interesting that they label this as "Pre 1949 Packaging". Obviously, the label on mine says aurora boreale, and we know that process was invented in 1956.
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Shadow Jewels 006
White givre stones, with a flat foiled back. KS with the edelweiss flower emblem, pre 1969?
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Shadow Jewels 007
Vitrail dark, gorgeous color, and hard to find. DS with edelweiss, 1970 to 1980?
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Shadow Jewels 008
and the boring 80s packaging.
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Shadow Jewels 009
The ones marked "special" were not just for the general market, they were specially ordered stones for various jewelry manufacturers, something specific they needed for their designs. Sometimes they are the wierder shaped stones. Swarovski chrysolite, a light celery green.
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Shadow Jewels 010
Swarovski smoked topaz.
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Shadow Jewels 011
Made in Japan faux coral stones.
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Shadow Jewels 012
Glass scarabs, these were made in many colors.
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Shadow Jewels 013
These are interesting, they look like ceramic?
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Shadow Jewels 014
And some of the lovely Japan faux opals.
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Shadow Jewels 015
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Shadow Jewels 016
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Shadow Jewels 017
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Shadow Jewels 018
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Shadow Jewels 019
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Shadow Jewels 020
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Shadow Jewels 021
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Shadow Jewels 022
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Shadow Jewels 023
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Shadow Jewels 024
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Shadow Jewels 025
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Shadow Jewels 026
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Shadow Jewels 027
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Shadow Jewels 028
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