Which of the Rhinestone Sizes Works Best for My Project?

​Are you new to using rhinestones? If so, you may have noticed that rhinestones have their own unique unit of measurement. You may have seen sizes listed as 20ss or 30ss. While you are familiar with inches and millimeters, you’ve never encountered “ss” before. Since you don’t understand this term, you have no idea whether the rhinestone is large or small. Is there a way to translate rhinestone sizes into something recognizable?

History of Rhinestones

To understand the abbreviation “ss”, we must go back in history to when rhinestones were a natural resource. Originally, sparkling quartz was found along the banks of the Rhine River, hence the name “rhinestones”. Finders of these sparkling quartz stones grouped them according to their size by dropping them into different size holes. Each hole was assigned a number with smaller stones having smaller numbers.  So, whichever hole number the quartz fit into became the stone size. Then, stone size became abbreviated to “ss”
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As years passed, this natural resource became depleted and manufacturers devised ways to replicate rhinestones.  While today companies manufacture rhinestones, stone size is still the unit of measurement used. 
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Size Charts and Guides

Typically, most rhinestone retailers will list the “ss” size alongside the “mm” or millimeter size. This enables you to check the size on a ruler.  Many will also have a sizing guide with a picture illustrating the size of each rhinestone. Either of these should be able to assist you in choosing a rhinestone size. Keep in mind too that the larger the number assigned to the rhinestone the larger the crystal. So, a 34ss rhinestones will be a much larger rhinestone than 10ss.

Generally too, the larger the rhinestones, the more expensive it is. Nevertheless, you will need less large size stones to cover an area. For example, to cover 1 square inch you will need only about 12 size 34ss rhinestones. While you will need about 67 size 12ss rhinestones to cover the same square inch.

Rhinestone Sizes in Millimeters

If rhinestone sizes still have you confused, let Rhinestones Etc help you! We have been selling rhinestones for over 10 years. We remember how it was when we first started with rhinestones and how confusing it all seemed. Moreover, we’d love to help you figure out what size and how many rhinestones you need. Contact us here with any questions.

Browse our online store to find the right color and size rhinestone for your bling project.