It's 8 a.m., and the first phone call comes into our customer service desk at J. Charles. I hear one of our customer service people give the same speech that I must hear them give at least a dozen times a day, "Well sir, it depends what your idea of crystal is," as she goes on to explain to the customer, in as simple of terms possible, if our awards and gifts are crystal, or glass?
Ironically, the answer is far from crystal clear. That's because for the most part there really isn't an ironclad definition of either. Not to mention, companies that market the stuff love to confuse us on the matter. If they can get you to think their glass is crystal, it raises the perceived value. In general, glass is a generic term. Crystal is a subcategory of glass. All crystal is glass, but not all glass is crystal. For the most part, when someone asks the question, "Is it crystal?" they are usually thinking of the glassware they received for their wedding from such well-known crystal companies as Waterford and Lennox, or an award they may have received from Val St. Lambert, or Kosta Boda, which is "Full-Lead Crystal."
The Mother of all Crystal
That said, let's start with "lead crystal" as this is what most people think "crystal" is, and this term does have a legal definition. While it has always been perfectly legal to refer to glass as crystal, to declare something as lead crystal is a different story. By law, lead crystal is glassware containing at least 24 percent lead-oxide. Lead gives the glass weight, extraordinary brilliance, and a nice ring when pinged. Lead is soft, which makes it conducive to hand cutting – and breaking, unfortunately. More recently, consumer safety, worker safety, and environmental concerns have landed lead crystal on the endangered species list. Lead crystal is becoming increasingly scarce, and glass manufacturers are scrambling for ingredients that have similar properties without the hazards. Anyway, be very careful about selling lead crystal these days, as you might have a SWAT team breaking down your door, or worse, the Prop 65 police, and a bunch of greedy lawyers looking to profit from the proposition's legal loopholes.
Are There Any Rules?
Aside from lead crystal, referring to something as glass or crystal is not regulated, meaning the determination rests in the eye of the beholder – or marketer. In our book, color and brilliance – or lack, thereof – is what distinguishes glass from crystal.
Glassware can be made from a variety of materials: silica, soda-ash, soda-lime, potash, zinc, lead, barium, and more recently, titanium. All of these ingredients affect color and brilliance. Glassware with a green or aqua tint gets its color from stuff like iron and soda-lime. Plate glass and cola bottles are examples of glass with high iron content, sometimes called Jade Crystal, though it contains no jade. Many find the color favorable for awards, and Jade Crystal tends to be considerably stronger as well.
From a technical perspective, crystal has a "crystalline structure," meaning its structure looks like a geometric pattern repeated across all three dimensions. This uniformity enhances transparency and sparkle by allowing light to pass through with less interference.
Glass, by contrast, has a structure that is more erratic, thus interfering with the passage of light. Keep in mind that shape also impacts sparkle. For instance, a solid piece with lots of facets will reflect light differently than a smooth, cylindrical piece, even if both are made from identical components.
Glass without color, or where the color is so subtle as to hardly be detectable, is made from purer ingredients. It tends to be virtually colorless, very transparent and has a higher perceived value. You know it when you see it because it has a way of striking the senses. That, to me, is what makes it crystal.
Probably the most popular crystal used for manufacturing awards today is Optically Perfect Crystal. The same stuff they grind expensive cameras and telescopes from, this type of crystal is created using higher, controlled temperatures, under tremendous pressure, to create crystal literally free of flow-marks and bubbles that you find in common glass. Given the name “Optic Crystal”, it gives brilliance and sparkle not commonly found in other types of machine made glass.
So is it a vase or a vahz?
My favorite rule of thumb has to do with how much you paid for it. If you spent too much for that vase, then it's a vahz, and you definitely own a piece of very fine crystal! If you didn’t break the bank, you have a glass vase. When visiting most any online seller of crystal awards and gifts you will most likely find two categories: glass and crystal. Click on both and you will find that the "glass" products typically cost far less than the "crystal" products, and therein lies the only real difference, as the higher price usually means higher quality.
Our answer?
"Well Sir, J.Charles sells many types of glass and crystal. We have a quality index explaining the properties of each, which we hope takes the confusion out of the issue and will insure that your customer is not disappointed with their purchase."
Victor Macchia is the vice president of sales and marketing for J. Charles Crystalworks. Contact him at Victor@JCharles.com.