76mm Teardrop Crystal Prisms #873-76

It was shipped separate from the rest of my items so came in a thin piece of cushioning inside a thin cardboard box inside a bubble mailer envelope. The box had sign it had been pushed/whacked enough to make a dent in the cardboard, but. The crystal was in perfect condition. It is heavy, and it is BIG, I had a good handful. No flaws, chips or scratches. None of those cheaper pressed glass warples or grooving or rough patches from being pressed into a mold. And the clarity that only lead containing glass can have. Polishing was excellent and all planes and surfaces were well done and facets centered and all. Quality and precision.There is NO hanging loop, but I took a coated steel wire fishing leader (30#) and some crimps, cut the swivel end off and left the clip end on, and threaded it through and triple crimped it to make a neat and permanent hanger for the crystal. I put just a bit of slack so the leader loop holds it with a bit of space, and put the crimps next to the crimp holding the clip end on the former leader. This will not chip the crystal around the through hole at the top at all.... and hold it securely. I could have also strung it on monofilament or cord, or used a large metal jump ring or jewelry bail/bale/bain on it but I might have chipped or scratched the hole edge using the ring or bail.I meant it about big. It's about 3" long, fills my whole palm-good handful, and is very thick from the point on each face to the other one. Heavy and substantial. I carefully polished it with a cotton cloth to get all my hammy-fingerprints off and hung it in my west kitchen window. Boy does it paint the place with rainbows in the late afternoon. Someone else in reviews had suggested it for the most rainbow-packing-power and I will agree; it really lights the place up with a good sunbeam to make rainbows. As it's going into fall and winter here, something to sparkle amongst my shelf of houseplants this winter will be a good thing. I think this as well worth the price I paid.*edit* I ordered a second one, and it came in similar thin cardboard box with a thin strip of cushion stuff; with another item... it could rattle around in the freight box despite the airpillows... this one had some light chipping along the 'girdle' (the edge of the teardrop itself) most were very tiny but one actually dished a little. Despite it being less than perfect, I polished my fingerprints off after making another hold/hang wire from a fishing leader and crimps, and it did the job very well when hung in the window. You can't see that it is slightly chipped, you would have to look very closely. It filled the room with rainbow spots, doing what it's supposed to do. Not worth the return.

I had sticker shock the other day when I went to a chandelier shop and they told me one Strass drop crystal would be close to twenty dollars, so when I saw this I ordered it. It's huge, the biggest of my sun-catcher crystals. It makes rainbows of various sizes; some are bright and distinct, some are subtle. It doesn't make a lot of rainbows, but the ones it makes are nice. I'm no expert, but it looks like genuine crystal and it had no chips or scratches. The drilled hole for hanging the crystal is easy to thread with wire or fishing line. There are nine large facets on each side of the crystal and the girdle is about an eighth of an inch thick, also polished. When you look outside through the crystal you see pretty spectral colors. My only concern with the transaction was the packaging. The crystal was in a small white box about the size of the crystal. This was in a paper envelope lined with bubble wrap. When I opened the envelope the white box was crushed on all sides. Luckily the crystal wasn't damaged. I enjoy old science fiction shows and one of my favorites is a 1964 episode of the original Outer Limits called "Behold Eck!" It's a story about a being from another dimension who tries to travel into our dimension, but in so doing, he loses one of his eyes. He lands in the lab of a scientist whose help he needs in restoring his eyesight. I was looking at my crystal hanging in the window the other night and realized it looked like it might be Eck's missing eye!

This is going to be a strange review. I have two cats who take to destroying most of my house while I'm gone and I was looking for something to distract them. Enter in: sun prisms from a crystal. They got NUTS for any kind of light shining and moving on the walls, floor, or ceiling. I hung this bad boy next to my sliding glass window so that when the sun shown in it would cast off little rainbow dots every where. This looks much nicer than hanging a disco ball in my living room but I was only half satisfied with the amount of rainbows it casts. BUT if you're not looking to distract cats I think this will do stupendously. For human use this casts enough rainbow prisms without being annoying (I was needing it to be at an annoying level). It's a very pretty jewel to add to any sun room. I have small hands but the size of this gem is about the entire space of my palm.

I came across this crystal and it reminded me of my Mother. She always had one hanging in her kitchen window (right next to the "kitchen witch)! So I bought it. When it arrived, I opened it up and immediately held it up to the sun light to see the prism colors reflect on my white walls. How pretty! It was mesmerizing and I kept turning it around and around to catch all the facets. Little did I know that my husband and dog (in another room) where also going round and round watching the colors and looking for the source of the prisms reflected! I don't know who was more comical, the dog trying to "eat" the colors or my husband opening and closing doors and blinds trying to find the source!If your looking for a calming/relaxing/happy space on on a sunny day, order one of these large, beautiful sun catchers! But beware, your sides might hurt from laughing at the "animals" in your house chasing rainbows!Pros: Beautiful, vibrant rainbow colors. Wonderfully priced! Calming and Relaxing - brings happiness to a spaceCons: Does not come with a hanger (used fishing string - the crystal is large and heavy)Enjoy and Be Well!