you'd have to be careful when buying the so called "Chinese crystals".  The best quality is Swarovsky of course.  I've been buying beads at bead/gem shows and the Chinese crystals sell for really cheap (about $2 to $3 per strand), but in reality, they are just like glass.  The color will fade with wear.  If you want to practice with Czech crystals, they are less sparkly but better in quality.  The "Chinese crystals" tend to have rounded edges with somewhat streamline shape. 

So when buying crystal beads, pay attention to how the edges are cut, whether the color is uniform throughout the bead, equal sized facets, and if there is a broken piece, look at how it is broken (real crystals will have sharper lines).