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What is Aurora Borealis

Aurora Borealis

Aurora Borealis is a name given a particular type of rhinestone or glass bead coating which has an iridescent finish that sparkles with a great variety of color. This iridescence is the result of a deposit of a very thin layer of metallic atoms on the lower surface of the rhinestone. It is very susceptible to scratching, so must be stored carefully.

In the early to mid 1950s, the Swarovski Company began experimenting to give a lustrous aurora borealis coating on crystals to make them more radiant. The process was meant to simulate the effect of the Northern Lights, or the celestial Aurora Borealis. By 1955, the process was perfected by Swarovski, who also worked closely with Christian Dior in the design of jewelry with these stones.

The Aurora Borealis (AB for short) comes in a wide variety of colors. Early colors had mainly a bluish coating, but over the years more and more variations in the coating color was perfected and the stones now have a wide variety of colors available. Jerry Smith from Beads and JSBeads.com has a wonderful chart of Aurora Borealis coating colors on his site.

Examples of Aurora Borealis Rhinestone and Glass Stones: (click the pictures for more detail)

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