A Toast to the Art of Collecting Antique Glass and Leaded Crystal

Antique and modern handcrafted crystal are some of the most beautiful, delicate, and precious items that one can collect.  Producing it is a fine art and the product itself is truly an art piece within itself! Because the art of glass production dates back thousands of years across several continents, there is no limit to the different types and styles of leaded crystal glass, thus making it one of the most interesting and popular items to collect.

Because leaded crystal glass is one of the most popular type of collectibles sought out by iTaggit.com users, I thought I would share with you a little information on how these beautiful pieces of crystal are are created and a current price guide for today's most popular crystal pieces!

How Leaded Crystal is Made
(courtesy of www.madehow.com)

Glass making is a 2,000-year-old process that has changed remarkably little in that time. Raw materials are essentially the same, although experiments over the years with the addition of lead to crystal have improved the product.

1. The crystal "cocktail" is mixed and made into molten crystal in a furnace heated to 2,192° F (1,200° C). The red-lead oxide is introduced into the furnace on a rapidly moving air current in a difficult procedure that can create different grades of purity. The furnace conditions must also be carefully controlled so the lead fully oxidizes and doesn't leave metallic lead, which not only discolors the glass but also attacks the fireclay of the furnace. The lead adds density to the glass so it is heavier; this weight advantage over ordinary glass also changes the crystal's light diffraction properties and the sound or ring of the crystal when it is struck.  A team of glass blowers uses physical strength, breath control, and dexterity to create the chamber with a certain thickness. This skill is only developed by experience. The thickness must be suitable to the object itself but also to the depth of the facets that will be cut in the gloss. 


2. Lead crystal is blown glass, but, because of its thickness, it requires a team of four to seven artists who are as well coordinated as any team of athletes. Wood blocks and molds are used to create the basic shape of the object called a crystal chamber. As soon as the molten glass touches the mold, it begins to cool instantly so glass blowing is a process of seconds. The chamber is also known as hollowware because it has an opening that is the functional part of the beverage glass, vase, or decanter.

3. The team of glass blowers uses physical strength, breath control, and dexterity to create the chamber with a certain thickness. This skill is only developed by experience. The thickness must be suitable to the object itself but also to the depth of the facets that will be cut in the glass. Near the furnace, other parts are added to the chamber. For example, a piece of molten glass is attached to the side of a decanter to form a handle and shaped to the perfect curve in one quick motion. Again, the glass will begin to harden almost immediately in the open air.

4. To slow that hardening process, the blown crystal piece is transferred to an annealing oven. If the crystal cools too quickly, stresses will be induced in the crystal as varying thicknesses cool differently and the crystal will contract too rapidly. The annealing process takes from 2-16 hours depending on the size and configuration of the piece.

5. The cooled crystal is now a "blank canvas" for the glass cutter. To prepare for cutting, the pattern is drawn on the vessel, usually with red-lead and turpentine. The design is then roughed out with a power-driven wheel equipped with different edges depending on the type of cut required. These cut surfaces are coarse and not as long or as deep as the finished cuts. The cutters are true artists who use sight, feel, physical strength, and their extraordinary memory for patterns, details, and cuts. The types of cuts are wedge and flat cuts. Wedge cuts are made with diamond-tipped wheels and produce deep facets. Flat cuts are made with the same equipment but are not as angled; they provide contrast with the deeper wedge cuts.

6. In the smoothing process, a sandstone wheel is used to dress the rough cuts; this part of the process requires the greatest skill because it establishes the finished design.

7. Finally, the finished vessel is polished by dipping it into a mixture of sulphuric and hydrofluoric acids. The acid bath attacks the entire surface of the object and removes a very thin layer while leaving a lustrous and uniform finish.

8. The process of intaglio, which uses tiny copper wheels that revolve slowly to engrave portraits or other illustrations and information into the object, is also used to engrave some pieces. Most engraved pieces, like large sports trophies, are one-of-a-kind items that are completed on commission. They may require many hours of engraving. The finished piece is carefully inspected and packaged in materials designed to display and protect the object.

Here are the Current Price Guides for both Leaded Crystal and Antique Glass