Jewelry Making

Cherry Quartz is a very popular manufactured type of glass that we’ve been using in our designs for a few years now. It is characterized by clear to light pink transparent glass with lots of red swirled inclusions inside of it. (Sorry about the picture, which looks more opaque than transparent). It is manufactured in many different shapes including all manner of standard spheres, ovals, nuggets, drops and briolettes.

Unlike pressed glass, these pieces are not made in molds which is the reason they look so much like actual gemstones. Instead, the glass is actually cut and faceted and polished like normal precious stones. And because the manufacturing process involves swirling different color combinations within the glass first and allowing it to cool, each piece is different. This seems to be what attracts so many jewelry makers - the fact that it’s synthetic but it retains individual characteristics.

To be clear, though, this is NOT a type of quartz. In fact, when we first started out we had thought it was a variety of quartz because it looked so REAL. There are now a huge variety of synthetic gemstone glass being sold as “Something” Quartz. Replace the word “something” with Pineapple, Moonstone, Pepper, Cloudy, Phantom, Blueberry, Watermelon, Pink, Green, and Yellow. Yes, these are synthetic, but many of them are very usable and an entirely viable option. This is especially the case when you’re first starting out beading. Always remember, though, to qualify to your customers that what they’re buying consists of not precious gemstone but manmade glass. Most will appreciate the honesty, and that shouldn’t deter them from purchasing. On the flip side, most distributors will also tell you up front if you ask whether a particular glass labeled as “quartz” is indeed a stone or if it’s manufactured.

Interestingly, I read online that sometimes Cherry Quartz is sold as Strawberry Quartz, although I’ve never heard that name used at jewelry shows. It’s also a misleading name because I know there is actually a TRUE type of stone called Strawberry Quartz. We have used a few other of the synthetic quartzes including Phantom and Pink Quartz. Reportedly, most of this glass is made in China… I have no idea of the manufacturing process and how they swirl the color in without it completely mixing together.