I love fine paste jewelry from all eras and in my Ruby Lane shop I have pieces dating from the Georgian era through the mid-20th century.  Paste is glass that is meant to look like gemstones and when I refer to “paste”, as opposed to rhinestone, jewelry I distinguish it by the quality of its construction:  paste jewelry is constructed just like fine jewelry using glass stones instead of gemstones in settings of gold or silver.  However, not everyone uses the term in this manner; some people throw around the terms “paste” and “rhinestone” interchangeably. read more