Product Material Descriptions

The product material descriptions of the items at Darswinkle's Delights are described on this page. We try very hard to let you know what each type of material is made of and some interesting facts about that product material if we can. If you find any of our information incorrect please Contact Us so we can correct it on our page.

Alabastrite
Alabastrite is Darswinkle's Delights product line name for polyresin items. Alabastrite is a cement-based polyresin material of medium to heavy weight which can be intricately molded producing great detail, and will allow paint to adhere. These items may be cleaned by dusting, however, they should not be washed with water as many of our items are painted with water soluble paints.

Bone China
Bone China is created from white clay with bone ash added. Bone ash content must be at least 25% by U.S. guidelines. It is then Fired at 1800 degrees Fahrenheit. The translucent material is finished with a glaze or underglaze (matte). This product is lighter, stronger, and more expensive than porcelain.

Ceramic
Ceramic covers inorganic non-metallic materials whose formation is due to the action of heat. Up until the 1950's or so the most important of these were the traditional clays, made into potter bricks, tiles and the like. (From Wikipedia)

Cotton
Cotton is the fiber that grows around the seeds of a cotton plant. This fiber is spun into a thread and used to make a soft cloth. Cotton is used for many things such as terry cloth, denim, t-shirts, bed sheets, yarn, fishnets, tents, book bindings and US paper money as just a few.

Crystal
Crystal is a lead glass that has been hand or machine cut with facets. Lead oxide is added to molten glass to give lead crystal a much higher index of refraction than normal glass.

Cubic Zircon
Cubic Zircons are the most successful simulated diamond. Properties such as refraction, hardness, and specific gravity are remarkably similar to diamonds. Cubic Zirconia are very hard to distinguish from diamonds; sometimes a jewelers loop will be needed to see the difference.

Diamond
Diamonds are extremely hard, highly refractive colorless or white crystalline of carbon. Diamonds, like all gemstones, are judged in terms of Karats, or weight (different from Karats, as in gold purity)

Dolmite
Dolomite is a magnesia-rich, sedimentary rock resembling limestone, and is either gray, pink or white in color.

Fiberglass
Fiberglass is a material made from extremely fine fibers of glass. It is used as a reinforcing agent for many polymer products.

Frosted Acrylic
Acrylic items are given the French Lilac process, (used on glass)< to achieve the distinctive frosted look. The drama of frosted glass without the weight.

Gemstones
Rubies, Sapphires, Emeralds, and Amethysts, are treasured as birthstones, and fall under the category of gemstones. Gemstones are priced adn graded by Karat weight.

Gold
Gold is a highly prized precious metal. Virtually indestructible, amazingly malleable, doesn't rust or tarnish. Gold is a chemical element in the Periodic Table with the symbol Au (from the Latin Aurum) and atomic number of 79. Gold does not react with most chemicals but is attacked by chlorine, fluorine, aqua regia and cyanide and dissolves in mercury. Gold is graded by purity; in the U.S. a scale of 24 is used, so 24 Karats (24K) is 100% pure. 18K is 18 parts gold and 6 parts alloy (other metals), and so on. 10K is the legal minimum for Karat-graded gold. The word "Plumb" indicates the exact purity of the piece. (From Wikipedia)

Gypsum
Gypsum is a white mineral which is usually used to make Plaster of Paris.

Hong Tze
To closely emulate a special stone found in China which is known for its deep red color, these items are created using an alabastrite polyresin. Hong Tze pieces are highly polished, further bringing out the intense, deep red color.

Jade Porcelain
Jade porcelain is a type of porcelain made with a finer clay. Usually no glaze or only a colorless glaze will be applied at the final firing to show off the very smooth surface and to preserve the translucency. Jade Porcelain is used for night lights because of its high degree of translucency when lit.

Melamine
A white crystalline compound, C3H6N6, used in making melamine resins and for tanning leather. A plastic made from such resin is used for many of our dishes.

Patchwork Items
Unique fabric or paper prints are applied to the surface of porcelain, dolomite or polyresin items. After application, 12 layers of lacquer are added and the item is hand polished to a high gloss between each layer.

Pearl
A pearl is a smooth, lustrous, variously-colored deposit formed around a grain of sand in the shell of a certain mollusk such as oysters. Pearls may be formed naturally or "cultured" through an artificial implanting process. As a response to an irritating object inside its shell, the mollusk will deposit layers of calcium carbonate in the form of calcite and held together by an organic horn-like compound conchiolin. The combination of calcium carbonate and conchiolin is called nacre, or as most know it, Mother-of-Pearl. Pearls are usually white, sometimes with a creamy or pinkish tinge, but may be tinted with yellow, green, blue, brown, purple or black. Pearls can either be freshwater or saltwater depending on they type of water the mollusk is in. Pearls are valued as a gemstone. The pearl is also the birthstone of June.

Polyester
Polyester generally refers to cloth woven from polyester fiber.Polyester cloth is generally considered to have a 'less' natural feeling to it compaired to natural fibers. Polyester fibers are often spun together with fibers of cotton, producing a cloth with some of the better properties of each. Polyester is combustible but due to it's thermoplastic nature, it tends to shrink away from the flame source and often self-extinguishes. (From Wikipedia)

Porcelain
Porcelain is a hard ceramic substance made from selected and refined materials such as a fine ground white clay, molded and fired in an oven for eight hours at 1200 degrees Fahrenheit. Finished with a glazed, underglazed, or bisque finish. Glazing produces a high gloss; underglaze produces a matte finish. Bisque is a matte finish without glaze. After finishing, the item is cooked for six hours at 800 degrees. Porcelain is used to make wares for the table, and kitchen, sanitary wares, decorative wares, objects of fine art, and tile. It's high resistance to the passage of electricity makes porcelain and excellent insulating material. (From Wikipedia)

Sterling Silver
Sterling Silver is an alloy of silver containing 92.5% pure silver and 7.5% other metals, usually copper.

Stoneware
Stoneware is a category of white clay with fine ground stone. Working with stoneware demands great expertise, and is in fact becoming a lost art. Stoneware is safe to use in microwave and conventional ovens.