Know Your Crystal Before You Buy

/>
Crystal glass also referred as to crystalline (resonant glass in French) which has a 10%

lead content, a density rating of 2.40 and a low to zero refractory index.

There are many factors that affect the price of crystal beside the lead content. Obviously the higher the lead content the higher the base cost of the product. The method of producing the final figurine also affects the price. Figurines can be made by pouring the glass into a mold, creating a figurine by assembling and gluing various shaped crystals or cutting a design from a solid block of glass. Each method is progressively more expensive because of the labor involved.

Another factor affecting the price is the intricacy of the crystal figurine design,

regardless of the production method. Each method will usually involve some cutting, grinding, gluing and polishing.

There are a number of companies, mostly Chinese, that produce crystalline figurines. You can purchase these figurines at a very reasonable price if you are on a tight budget. Just keep in mind that you are not purchasing a lead crystal product. Also be aware that there are unscrupulous companies that claim that their figurines are lead crystal when they are really crystalline. It is difficult for the untrained eye to tell the difference between the two. You certainly don’t want to buy a crystalline figurine for a lead crystal price.

You can protect yourself by purchasing from reliable merchants in your local area

or on the internet. Your dealer can tell you the lead content of any crystal figurine you want to purchase. They are carefully instructed by the major figurine manufacturers in all

Pages: 1 2 3