When it comes to glassware, most people think that that best way to spot quality is to ting a glass and listen. If you educate your eyes to spot a high quality piece of crystal, you can give your ears the day off. Why? The sound of a ting from a piece of glass is subjective and it may not actually tell you anything about the quality of that piece of stemware. The notion that a high pitched sound will result in the identification of a high quality piece of crystal is not always the case. Just because a piece of glass sounds good when you ting it does not mean it is a piece of valuable crystal. Other factors will help you determine if you truly have the real thing. Here are the facts.
Glassware (traditional soda-lime glass) contains about 50% silica (sand) and no lead. Crystal contains at least 24 percent lead. That lead content is the basic distinction between crystal and glass.
Sounds easy enough, but it isn’t that easy. You remember your mother telling you that nothing worth having is ever easy.
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Most people do not think that their everyday juice glass is a piece of crystal. Most of the time your everyday juice glass is made of a material called soda-lime glass. It is used for products such as windows, drinking glasses, etc. Most glass made in the United States today is soda-lime glass which is a combination of lime, silica (sand), and soda. This is cheap glass--no harm, no foul, no big investment.
On the other hand, crystal is made of silica (sand), lead oxide, and soda. It is both beautiful and strong. Crystal is a term used to describe any glassware that looks fancy or is used in the service of champagne, wine, or spirits. Crystal is the choice for wine connoisseurs because it allows the drinker to assess the color of the wine or liquor.
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If your piece of crystal is very clear, it probably has a greater amount of lead content than its cloudier counterpart. When it comes to crystal, its reflective quality and the 24% lead content are most important traits. Crystal shows more clarity than a typical piece of soda lime glass and its reflective quality is why crystal is used for chandeliers, fine wine glasses, and jewelry pendants. Very fine crystal—like those pieces made by a high quality firm such as Waterford—may even exceed the 24% lead content requirement and provide products that are upwards of 30% lead content or more.
The confusion surrounding crystal is based in history and chemistry. First of all, despite its name, crystal does not have a crystalline chemical structure. And, the term crystal (cristallo) was coined by Italian glassmakers in the famous Murano glassblowing center near Venice to define quality glassware. Crystal is typically thin because it is easier to sculpt glass with a high lead content because the properties of the lead lowers the working temperature of the glass. The lower temperature (thanks to the lead) extends the time that the glass blower has to sculpt a piece.
Crystal has the following attributes: 24% lead content, bright reflective quality,
clear overall appearance, silver or silver/purple color hue, rainbow prism effect when held up to the light, thinner than regular soda-lime glass, and heavier than regular soda-lime glass.
In fact, high quality crystal with a lead content over 35% will actually sparkle. If you are trying to tell if you have a piece of cut crystal, place your thumb into the incised or cut design of the piece and if you move your thumb around and you feel as if you will get cut, then you have a piece of cut crystal. Crystal will take on the properties of sharp cutting. Fine glassware may contain some lead content but if the 24% lead content level is not reached for a specific piece of glassware then a manufacturer cannot by law call that piece “crystal.”
Celebrity Ph.D. antiques appraiser, author, and award-winning TV personality, Dr. Lori presents antique appraisal events nationwide. Dr. Lori is the star appraiser on the Discovery channel’s hit TV show, Auction Kings. Visit www.DrLoriV.com, www.Facebook.com/DoctorLori, @DrLoriV on Twitter, or call (888) 431-1010.
