TTO 0134 Gold Rose Buckle Fabulous Rhinestone Buckle. Gold-tone roses are at the double hearts of this extraordinary buckle. The yellow glass rhinestones are prong set, with ten in each half, ten tiny stones between the large ones in each. The buckle measures 3 3/4" across by 1 3/4" deep in total. A rhinestone or paste or diamante is a diamond simulant made from rock crystal, glass or acrylic. Originally, rhinestones were rock crystals gathered from the river Rhine. The availability was greatly increased when around 1775 the Alsatian jeweller Georg Friedrich Strass had the idea to imitate diamonds by coating the lower side of glass with metal powder. Hence, rhinestones are called Strass in many European languages. Rhinestones may be used as imitations of diamonds, and some manufacturers even manage to reproduce the glistening effect real diamonds have in the sun.