Consider table lamps from Waterford Crystal. These are always very fashionable and very popular because of the fine work Waterford Crystal does. There are several designs available, but many options have stylish feet at the base of the lamp. That base comes in several varieties, but a popular choice is the burnished brass option, but you can select your own classic metal. Waterford Crystal table lamps fit in both contemporary and modern styles. And “Waterford Crystal” might make these options sound very expensive, but from the right sellers, you can get them for as little as $400, which is a great price for these pieces of art.

For an inexpensive route, consider Trans Globe crystal body table lamps. The “crystal body” style means that the entire base is made of crystal, not just the stem or another bit. These are fashionable and modern pieces. Their contemporary style often offers perfect lighting of a room through a fine shade. Many of these varieties have prices in the $200′s, so they’re very reasonable.

For the vintage look, there are a lot of options and prices out there. The best antique look, of course, has a good amount of crystal, but it often layers colors of red, gold, and slate into the design to accentuate the crystal and make it that much more stylish. Look for this type of design if you’re interested in a more vintage style for your room or home.

Crystal table lamps make fine additions to any room’s decor, but they are especially effective in dining rooms and offices. Take these tips into consideration before you make a final purchase.

The Original Post is Located Here: What to Look for in Crystal Table Lamps

All crystal is glass, but not all glass is crystal. Standard glass, such as what you might find in a drinking cup or a window pane, is called “soda-lime glass,” because sodium carbonate and lime are two of its ingredients (along with dolomite, silicon dioxide, aluminum oxide, and several fining agents). There are two kinds of crystal: true crystal and lead-free crystal. True crystal is exactly like soda-lime glass with one particular exception: it has 30% lead oxide. (Lead-free crystal uses barium oxide.)

Why lead? Well, first of all, it lowers the temperature you need to work with the glass. When working with soda-lime glass, you need extremely high temperatures to mold and shape the glass into designs (usually about 2400 F or 1316 C), but crystal does not have to be kept in such heat when designers and manufacturers are working it. Lead crystal also produces molecules with a three-dimensional grid pattern, leading to a much higher refractive index than that of soda-lime glass. What’s “refractive index,” you say? It’s the quality of a material to change the direction of light. The high refractive index of crystal is what gives it that incredible sparkle and shine. Finally, crystal absorbs less kinetic energy than soda-lime glass, meaning that when it is struck (when vibration is applied), it oscillates (the vibration is sustained, instead of absorbed). This results in the telltale ring of crystal, often heard when beauty pageant contenders play champagne flutes or wine glasses.

In spite of the dangers of lead leaching, lead crystal is actually quite safe. The amount that seeps into consumables during the normal use and operation of lead crystal containers is well below hazardous levels. So don’t worry about that (although you probably shouldn’t let children too close to your crystal).

Crystal is an amazing thing. Now that you know a bit more about it, you are becoming well-educated in how to pick it out for your home. It is always a fantastic addition to any home.

The Original Post is Located Here: What is Crystal?

Consider the aesthetics of a chandelier. Crystal chandeliers are stylish and classy. They always fill out a room, and they draw the best kinds of attention. They are so beautiful, in fact, that they can add value to a home, simply because they’ve been installed. It proves to any and all visitors that this house, your house, is an upstanding, proper, and beautiful home.

But more than the aesthetics, there is also the durability. Crystal is notable because it is more durable than glass. In fact, in spite of their delicate look, crystal chandeliers (especially those made with leaded crystal, which is the most common and traditional kind) are very resilient and can last for years, even outlasting wooden chandeliers and competing with metal chandeliers. Since they are hung near the ceiling, they’re also unlikely to encounter any foreign objects or playful hands, which might otherwise pose a danger to the crystal. They’re unlikely to be broken, and they don’t show the same wear and tear as wood or metal. Durability is a huge benefit of the crystal chandelier.

Crystal chandeliers are also easy to clean. As long as you have access to the chandelier (and usually, you only need a step-ladder for that), cleaning it is easy. Dust it once a week to keep it pristine, and wipe it down with a household cleaner once or twice a year. If it were made of wood or metal, you would need to polish and shine it more often than that. With a crystal chandelier, there’s no need for any of that. It’s just simple elegance.

If there was any doubt in your mind about getting a crystal chandelier before, there shouldn’t be now. They’re the best light source money can buy, not only because of their aesthetics, but also because of their durability and easy cleanliness.

The Original Post is Located Here: 3 Reasons Crystal Chandeliers Are Better Than Alternatives

Would it surprise you to learn that the size and shape of a wine glass plays a crucial role in the flavor of the wine you put in it? It’s true. The release and layering of aromas and flavors of wine is integrally tied to the shape of its container. Swirling the wine intensifies these aromas, but it doesn’t move them around as much as you might think.

It is generally agreed that there are three layers of aroma rising from a glass of wine. The top layer consists of all of the fruity grape smells. The middle layer consists of the vegetable and earthy mineral components of the aroma. Finally, the deepest layer holds all of the strong alcohol and wood elements, where the wine gets its strength.

Red wines are warmer, and they are served at room temperature, so the evaporation of the wine tends to be more intense. This leads to a stronger alcoholic aroma as the deepest layer pushes the top two layers out ahead of it. Larger glasses allow these aromas to spread out more, letting each layer come to you naturally, so you get the full effect. A larger glass allows you to recognize the fruity and earthy aromas as well as the alcoholic ones.

White wines are cooler, and are often served chilled. This makes them evaporate more slowly. A smaller glass with a narrower opening allows all of the aromas to rise evenly, including the deep alcohol aromas. This way, you can get the full effect of a white wine.

You must select your crystal wine glasses based on your preferred wine. If you drink all kinds of wine, then you must get all kinds of wine glasses, but if you drink primarily red wines, a larger, broader glass will serve you better. If, on the other hand, you drink primarily white wines, a smaller, narrower glass will bring you the full flavor of your wine. Be responsible in your drinking; that includes using the appropriate glass.

The Original Post is Located Here: How Crystal Wine Glasses Affect the Wine

A crystal decanter is classic style. This is especially true of leaded crystal, as many purists will be quick to tell you. You must be careful with leaded crystal, of course, not to misuse the decanter. A decanter is designed for aeration and presentation, not storage. A wine should not spend more than a few hours in a decanter, and certainly not months. If you misuse a crystal decanter and store wine in it for long periods, lead may leach into the wine, which can be hazardous to your health. (Also be sure to store empty crystal decanters away from children, who may be harmed by lead more easily.)

If you want to avoid the whole question of crystal decanters, you could try a normal glass decanter. These will be very inexpensive and there will be no dangers of lead, but of course normal glass lacks the luster and sparkle of true crystal. This is not ideal, especially not if you will be serving guests from your decanter. You must have only the finest. If you want crystal, but still want to avoid the dangers of lead, there is also lead-free crystal, made with barium oxide instead of lead oxide. This is generally quite expensive, but it retains the sparkle and oscillating ring of true crystal.

If you decide to stick with leaded crystal, of course, you should go with one of the classic manufacturers: Waterford Crystal, Steuben Glass Works, Swarovski, or Baccarat Crystal. Only the best can make true crystal into truly fine wine decanters.

The Original Post is Located Here: Crystal Wine Decanters

You see, crystal has been a symbol of wealth and status for over a century, especially when compared to “normal” glass. “Normal” glass, by the way, is technically called “soda-lime” glass, because it contains sodium carbonate and lime, among other ingredients. Crystal was unique from soda-lime glass because it also had lead added to it. Lead lowered the temperatures needed to work the glass, and it raised the refractive index of the glass (this is what gives crystal its sparkle and shine). It also made the resulting crystal sturdier and more resilient than soda-lime glass, making crystal an all-around great purchase.

In the past half-century, lead has been shown to cause significant health problems, especially among children. And in recent years, studies have shown that lead does, in fact, leach into liquids stored in lead-crystal containers. These levels can become dangerously high in wine if the glasses and decanters are not used properly. Some folks keep wine in lead-crystal glasses for more than a few hours, or in decanters for months at a time! These abnormally long periods lead to unhealthy levels of lead in the wine. However, when used properly, the amount of lead seeping into the wine is within safe levels and is usually lower than the average daily intake of an adult (about 70 parts per billion).

Many companies began to make lead-free crystal to avoid this issue entirely. Instead of adding lead to soda-lime glass, some companies began to add barium oxide, which offers an even higher refractive index than leaded crystal, making glasses even brighter. Barium oxide is also lighter than lead oxide, so it lowers the weight of the glasses without weakening their structure.

If you use wine glasses and decanters properly, then you don’t need to worry about leaded crystal causing you any trouble. If, however, you want to be safe and secure, especially if you have children in the house, then the best bet is to get barium oxide (often called “lead-free”) crystal instead.

The Original Post is Located Here: Leaded vs Lead-Free Crystal

First, feel the weight of it. Glass may be heavy, but crystal almost always contains lead. The lead addition has numerous benefits, but one of the obvious differences between soda-lime glass and leaded crystal is that the crystal is much heavier than the glass. If you feel the weight of the product and it doesn’t feel very heavy, then chances are, it’s only soda-lime glass and not crystal. But if it feels very heavy, then it could be crystal. (Lead-free crystal is lighter than leaded crystal, but still heavier than soda-lime glass, and most lead-free crystal will be described that way.)

Next, you want to check the resonance of the product. Tap it lightly with a bit of metal, or even just your fingernail. A second benefit of the lead content of crystal is that it increases the resonance of the glass, so crystal will reverberate and make that telltale ring, whereas glass will probably just make a “tink” sound.

Third, examine the product for the sparkle and shine of crystal. Lead increases the refractive index of glass, making it disperse light very easily. This results in a sparkle, and often in a rainbow of colors. Some glass prisms can create rainbows also, but these must be a very specific shape, and it’s unlikely you’re shopping for a crystal prism.

Fourth, check the edges of the product. If it has sharp, angular edges, then it’s probably just soda-lime glass. If it has smoother, rounded edges, however, then it’s more likely to be true crystal.

Finally, the lead content has another benefit of making the glass easier to work with. This, combined with the added weight, makes crystal very resilient compared to soda-lime glass. Don’t try to break the product! But you should be able to tell whether or not it could withstand a little wear and tear.

There you have it! If you’re shopping for crystal, don’t settle for less: use these five tips to figure out whether you’ve found some true crystal or just a bit of glass someone’s trying to pass off as crystal. Good luck!

The Original Post is Located Here: 5 Differences Between Regular Glass and True Crystal

Daniel Swarovski (born Daniel Swartz) founded the Swarovski company in Wattens, Austria. The modern Swarovski Group owns a number of subsidiaries, each focused on a different subset of reflective and refractive products. The most central of these products in crystal, but one of their subsidiaries, Swareflex, actually makes reflectors for roads. Swarovski, Daniel Swarovski, Atelier Swarovski, and Schonbek are all subsidiaries of the Swarovski Group and are all involved in crystal manufacturing.

Swarovski doesn’t cut their glass in traditional ways. They use special, copyrighted glass cuts and special metal-based chemicals for making their crystals more brilliant, more unique, and more extravagant. These chemicals, especially, often maximize the refractive index of the glass (which determines how sparkly the crystal is), resulting in rainbows of light refracting from the crystal. The most famous such chemical is called “Aurora Borealis,” named for the northern lights.

Other coatings include Aurum, Crystal Transmission, Dorado, and more. Sometimes, these chemicals are applied only to parts of the crystals, and other times, they’re applied to the entire crystal more than once, depending on how Swarovski wants the crystal to look. Each chemical is used for different effects on different pieces. These unique and special designs are what make Swarovski crystals so sought-after in the market today.

Swarovski has a great deal of variety and options when it comes to crystal, but that’s just what makes them so accessible. Though Swarovski crystals may be expensive, you can rest assured that they are genuine and artful pieces. If it’s crystal, whether it’s a bead, a wine glass, a decanter, a candlestick, a table lamp, a piece of jewelry, a handbag, or a chandelier, Swarovski makes it, and it’s hard to go wrong with a company as great as Swarovski.

The Original Post is Located Here: Swarovski Crystal

Crystal perfume bottles are generally inspired by Art Deco and Art Nouveau. Artistic glass and crystal perfume bottles have been extremely popular over the years, beginning in the 1890′s and carrying on through the 1930′s (although, in certain circles, they are still very popular). This movement, this tradition, began and was always centralized in Paris, France.

There have been a variety of styles over the years. Steuben Glass Works released several famous bulb-shaped bottles covered with glass “threads” (this was based in the company’s Verre de Soie procedure of shaping and design). Tiffany & Co. had smaller, cylindrical bottles with engraved silver caps. Then, of course, there were the special containers designed by Baccarat Crystal for Ella Schiaparelli (a candle and candlestick for the bottle, with a gilded “flame” for the stopper) and for Shalimar by Guerlain (the famous square-sided Liu bottle).

Perhaps the most famous crystal manufacturer involved in the perfume bottle business is Ren Lalique. He became extremely popular with his containers for d’Orsay and Roger et Gallet–so much so that he was among the first to design unique crystal containers to be sold empty, so customers could place their favorite perfumes in Lalique bottles. Famous designs for empty bottles included the Tantot and the Amphitrite.

Crystal perfume bottles are very collectible, very stylish, and worth every penny. They provide class, house delightful perfumes, and show an owner to be wealthy and wise.

The Original Post is Located Here: Crystal Perfume Bottles

Crystal has been around for a while now, but there are still not many companies that can claim to prepare, manufacture, and design crystal at the very best quality. Steuben Glass Works is one of those companies. If you’re interested in anything made of crystal, then Steuben Glass Works is one of the names to check out. They’re extremely famous (with good reason), and they’ve done exceptional work especially in perfume containers and wine glasses and decanters.

Steuben Glass Works is renowned worldwide for their crystal products. No matter where you go, you won’t be able to find a shop selling crystal that has never heard the name Steuben. Designing, molding, shaping, and manufacturing crystal has been their trade for over a hundred years (the company was started in 1903 in Steuben County in New York). They have produced incredible glass and crystal designs of everything from perfume containers to wine decanters to candlesticks. Unfortunately, Schottenstein recently shut down Steuben Glass Works, ending its illustrious history and making Steuben crystal much rarer and much more valuable.

Steuben has always made excellent perfume containers. For a long time, they made bottles specifically for various brands and scents, but they also have made empty collectibles and signature bottles for you to fill yourself. Both types of bottles are relatively rare and very collectible, in part because Steuben has always been renowned for its unique Verre de Soie style.

Steuben has also made a name for itself in wine glasses and decanters, candlesticks (such as the famous Balustrade Candlestick, with its perfect teardrop air bubble in the center), and more. If it’s crystal, then it was made by Steuben Glass Works at some point, and it’s probably collectible, especially now. If you’re interested in getting anything crystal to bring light, art, and class into your home, then Steuben Glass Works is the brand to look for.

The Original Post is Located Here: Steuben Glass Works