There are a wide variety of rhinestone types, including round, flat, pointed, special types and others. If you want to use rhinestones to add to clothing or accessories, how should you choose the appropriate size of rhinestone? How do you measure the size of rhinestones and correctly estimate the number of rhinestones you need to use? Some of the units of rhinestones are in ss, some are in mm, what kind of unit should be used?
In this article, we will introduce three different units of rhinestone, the size chart of rhinestones and the measurement method of rhinestone in detail. At the end of this article, with the example of SUNMEI’s acrylic rhinestones, we will show the actual method to measure rhinestones.
If you need to use rhinestone in the future, you will be familiar with the measurement methods and choose the most suitable size of rhinestone!
How are rhinestone size? Three different units for rhinestones
There are three common units of rhinestones, namely pp (pearl plate), ss (stone size) and mm (millimetre size).
If this is your first contact with rhinestone, it may be easy to be confused by these three units. However, if you are familiar with the differences and comparisons between the three units, it does not cause much confusion. Common glass rhinestones such as flat-backed rhinestones and pointed-back chaton use ss units, while plastic rhinestones such as acrylic rhinestones use mm units.
MM（Millimeter Size）
mm (millimetre) is a common unit of measurement. Many flat-backs, pointed-backs, sewn-on, or other shaped rhinestones are measured in mm. This unit of measurement differs from the other two in that it is usually used to measure larger size rhinestones. General plastic rhinestones (acrylic and resin) like SUNMEI’s acrylic rhinestones are mm units.
SS（Stone Size）
SS literally means the size of a stone. The units are for round rhinestones, mainly in the glass and crystal flat-backs chaton, Rivoli, chaton, and other styles.
Compared with mm (millimetre), ss units are smaller and can be measured more accurately. Thus, it is also used in smaller size rhinestones. According to the Swarovski’s size chart, the maximum size of SS is SS75 (about 18.4mm).
PP（Pearl Plate）
PP units are often used for round rhinestones with very small sizes. It can differentiate down to a tenth of a millimeter (0.1mm). If you refer to the size chart below, you can see that PP1 is 0.8-0.9mm, while PP2 is 0.9-1.00mm, and the difference between them is only 0.1mm.
PP (Pearl Plate) units are derived from the measurement method for pearl sizing. Pearls are placed on a board with holes of all sizes. When a pearl passes through a board of this size, it can be measured.
| PP (pearl plate) | SS (stone size) | mm (millimeter) | in (inches) |
|---|---|---|---|
| PP1 | SS000 | 0.80-0.90 | 0.032-0.035 |
| PP2 | SS00 | 0.90-1.00 | 0.035-0.039 |
| PP3 | SS0 | 1.00-1.10 | 0.039-0.043 |
| PP4 | SS1 | 1.10-1.20 | 0.043-0.047 |
| PP5 | SS2 | 1.20-1.30 | 0.047-0.051 |
| PP6 | SS2 | 1.30-1.35 | 0.051-0.053 |
| PP7 | SS3 | 1.35-1.40 | 0.053-0.055 |
| PP8 | SS3 | 1.40-1.50 | 0.055-0.059 |
| PP9 | SS4 | 1.50-1.60 | 0.059-0.063 |
| PP10 | SS4 | 1.60-1.70 | 0.063-0.067 |
| PP11 | SS5 | 1.70-1.80 | 0.067-0.071 |
| PP12 | SS5 | 1.80-1.90 | 0.071-0.075 |
| PP13 | SS6 | 1.90-2.00 | 0.075-0.079 |
| PP14 | SS6 | 2.00-2.10 | 0.079-0.083 |
| PP15 | SS7 | 2.10-2.20 | 0.083-0.087 |
| PP16 | SS7 | 2.20-2.30 | 0.087-0.091 |
| PP17 | SS8 | 2.30-2.40 | 0.091-0.095 |
| PP18 | SS8 | 2.40-2.50 | 0.095-0.098 |
| PP19 | SS9 | 2.50-2.60 | 0.098-0.100 |
| PP20 | SS9 | 2.60-2.70 | 0.100-0.106 |
| PP21 | SS10 | 2.70-2.80 | 0.106-0.110 |
| PP22 | SS10 | 2.80-2.90 | 0.110 |
| PP23 | SS11 | 2.90-3.00 | 0.110-0.120 |
| PP24 | SS12 | 3.00-3.20 | 0.120-0.130 |
| PP25 | SS13 | 3.20-3.30 | 0.130 |
| PP26 | SS13 | 3.30-3.40 | 0.133 |
| PP27 | SS14 | 3.40-3.50 | 0.133-0.140 |
| PP28 | SS14 | 3.50-3.60 | 0.14 |
| PP29 | SS15 | 3.60-3.70 | 0.14-0.15 |
| PP30 | SS15 | 3.70-3.80 | 0.15 |
| PP31 | SS16 | 3.80-4.00 | 0.15-0.16 |
| PP32 | SS17 | 4.00-4.10 | 0.16 |
| PP33 | SS17 | 4.10-4.20 | 0.16-0.17 |
| SS19 | 4.40-4.60 | 0.17-0.18 | |
| SS20 | 4.60-4.80 | 0.18-0.19 | |
| SS21 | 4.80-4.90 | 0.19 | |
| SS22 | 4.90-5.10 | 0.19-0.20 | |
| SS23 | 5.10-5.27 | 0.20-0.21 | |
| SS24 | 5.27-5.44 | 0.21 | |
| SS25 | 5.44-5.61 | 0.21-0.22 | |
| SS26 | 5.61-5.78 | 0.22-0.23 | |
| SS27 | 5.78-5.96 | 0.23 | |
| SS28 | 5.96-6.14 | 0.23-0.24 | |
| SS29 | 6.14-6.32 | 0.24-0.25 | |
| SS30 | 6.32-6.50 | 0.25-0.26 | |
| SS31 | 6.50-6.68 | 0.26 | |
| SS32 | 6.68-6.87 | 0.26-0.27 | |
| SS33 | 6.87-7.07 | 0.27-0.28 | |
| SS34 | 7.08-7.27 | 0.28-0.29 | |
| SS35 | 7.27-7.48 | 0.29-0.30 | |
| SS36 | 7.48-7.70 | 0.30 | |
| SS37 | 7.70-7.93 | 0.30-0.31 | |
| SS38 | 7.93-8.16 | 0.31-0.32 | |
| SS39 | 8.16-8.41 | 0.32-0.33 | |
| SS40 | 8.41-8.67 | 0.33-0.34 | |
| SS41 | 8.67-8.95 | 0.34-0.35 | |
| SS42 | 8.95-9.23 | 0.35-0.36 | |
| SS43 | 9.23-9.53 | 0.36-0.38 | |
| SS44 | 9.53-9.85 | 0.38-0.39 | |
| SS45 | 9.85-10.19 | 0.39-0.40 | |
| SS46 | 10.19-10.54 | 0.40-0.41 | |
| SS47 | 10.54-10.91 | 0.41-0.43 | |
| SS48 | 10.91-11.30 | 0.43-0.45 | |
| SS49 | 11.30-11.72 | 0.45-0.46 | |
| SS50 | 11.72-11.97 | 0.46-0.47 | |
| SS55 | 12.97-13.22 | 0.51-0.52 | |
| SS60 | 14.22-14.47 | 0.56-0.57 | |
| SS65 | 15.47-15.72 | 0.57-0.62 | |
| SS70 | 16.72-16.97 | 0.66-0.67 | |
| SS75 | 17.97-18.22 | 0.71-0.72 |
Rhinestone Sizes Chart
How are rhinestones measured?
Once we know the measuring unit of rhinestones, we also need to know how to measure the rhinestones. If we had a rhinestone on hand today, how do we know its size?
1. Entity size comparison chart
The simplest measurement method is to take an actual comparison chart and compare the rhinestone with the chart to find the corresponding size. Or you can go on the Internet to find a one-to-one size comparison chart and directly compare the rhinestones and the chart.
2. Stones Sizing Tool for measuring Rhinestones
There are also tools that measure the size of the rhinestone on the market and can be used to directly measure the size.
3. Vernier calipers
Another more efficient and currently used method is the through vernier calipers. You can directly measure the size through the vernier caliper. However, the measured size unit is mm. If you want to do it through ss or pp, you need to see the size comparison chart.
For more details on how to use the vernier caliper and how to read it, please refer to Wikipedia.
The measurement method of SUNMEI acrylic rhinestones size
The shape and size of SUNMEI’s products are rich and diverse, whether they are large or small in size or even when it comes to the special shape of the rhinestones, they are all measured in mm (millimetres).
Different shapes of rhinestones are measured in different ways. If you need to buy SUNMEI’s acrylic rhinestones, or if you don’t know how to measure the size of the rhinestones, you can refer to the chart below.
Things to pay attention to when measuring size
When measuring the size of a rhinestone, special attention should be paid to its faults. When measuring resin rhinestone and acrylic rhinestone, due to its production method of injection molding (acrylic) and compression molding (resin), a small size fault is inevitable.
This being said, if the rhinestones you bought are to be put onto other finished products, such as cosmetic packaging cans, it is suggested to obtain the actual rhinestone in the development of the finished mold first and understand the error range of rhinestones of this size (for example, a rhinestone labelled as 4.5mm may actually be 4.4mm or 4.6mm in size)
Before developing the mold, it is important to understand the actual size range before making it. This is to avoid if the final mold being completed but without the rhinestone being able to be embedded into it.
Conclusion
Generally, there are three units of rhinestone size. Different units only represent different representations. The same size of rhinestone can be expressed in different units. It’s just that in general when we’re talking about sizing, we use the units that people are used to.
This article describes in detail, the different size units, comparison charts, measurement methods, as well as SUNMEI’s acrylic rhinestone size measurement method. If there is a need to know how to use the rhinestones, you can always refer to this information. Please feel free to contact us if you have any requests about acrylic rhinestone.
SUNMEI is a specialized manufacturer of acrylic rhinestone and button for over 20 years. We provide a wide selections of acrylic rhinestones and buttons. Visit our product page and find out more styles!