The Low Down on Crystal, Part 4

How Can I Tell if It’s Glass or Lead Crystal?
Part 4 of 5 part series on understanding crystal as a material

There are kits you can buy that can test for lead content. However, there are ways to guess without such a to-do:

By sight: Just by looking you should be able to distinguish. The lead in crystal makes it incredibly clear and gives it a tell-tale rainbow spectrum sheen; when you turn a piece of crystal about in the light, small glimmers of color appear. Glass will not have that rainbow sparkle or the simple clarity of crystal.

By touch: Another way is to feel the weight of the piece of crystal in your hand. Crystal is noticeably heavier than glass. You might not expect it, but intuitively, you probably have a good sense for how heavy glass should feel—think about how many glass jars, bottles, and cups have you held in your lifetime. So, you should be able to gauge if that amount of material in your hand weighs as much as, or more than, what that amount of glass would weigh.

By sound: This is mostly a trick for glassware, since small crystal beads don’t make a strong sound when you tap at them, but this would likely work for larger, thinner pieces of chandelier crystal or glass. Just give it a flick with your finger or tap it with something—if it is crystal, the noise it should make is a reverberating and clear “clink” or “ting.” If you end up with a thudding noise, or really a “tunk” that does not reverberate, then you are holding glass.

By very fun destruction: Also, crystal is more durable and does not fracture into as many pieces as glass, so if you have an extra piece to smash up, this could be a good test to see how it breaks. If it breaks into 2 or 3 clean pieces, then it’s probably crystal, but if it shatters into several pieces and small shards then it’s most likely glass.

If all else fails and you really cannot figure it out (i.e. if you’re blind, deaf and armless), then you should go ahead and purchase a lead-detection kit (and have someone with appropriate physical means help you with the process). Kits come pretty cheap, I’ve seen some for about $13.00, so if you want a definitive answer there is that option.

The Low Down on Crystals, Part 3

Where do Crystals Come from?
Part 3 of 5 Part Series on Understanding Crystal as a Material

Many different countries produce crystals of all kinds of quality. The following are some of the more notable countries of origin:

The highest quality I have seen is from Swarovski, which has their factories based in Austria. They have precision cuts that increase the sparkle dramatically, a high lead content, and are the most expensive crystals on the market.

If you are looking for totally acceptable quality at a lower cost, I would suggest Egyptian crystals. I’ve handled and worked with Egyptian crystals from the company Asfour and I think they are still very eye-catching while being an economical solution. The crystals have over 30% lead content and that characteristic rainbow shine. Maybe the cut is not as sharp as Swarovski’s, but the crystals are still cleanly cut and capture light excellently. A word of caution though, that at least the 8mm rounded crystal beads from Asfour are machine cut, and maybe one in a ten is slightly asymmetrical. I haven’t noticed this kind of cutting issue with the company’s larger crystals (French Cut ones are all perfect), which I believe are also machine cut—I think it is an issue only for the very small, faceted pieces.

The cheapest and lowest quality crystals come from China. A warning about Chinese crystals: they really aren’t worth it, no matter how low the cost, just don’t bother. Often, they have no lead content at all (some dealers lie about this fact), and worst than that, they are not even made of high quality glass. Many pieces will have obvious imperfections, such as white spots within the crystal , or a general murky gray tint in the glass (a sign of many impurities). Also, since they are machine cut, they are often inaccurately cut or unintentionally asymmetrical, which not only means the bead is ugly, but also means that it cannot sparkle like it is supposed to. DO NOT buy Chinese crystals!

For lead-free crystals, look to Austrian (Swarovski/Strass) crystals or Turkish crystals (more discussion about lead free crystals in this article: Isn’t Lead Poisonous?).

So many different qualities of crystal from so many countries!--but how can I tell that it's real lead crystal and not glass on my own? (Part 4)

Sources:
Personal Experience
http://www.cristalier.com/
http://www.chandelierparts.com/aboutourcrystal.aspx

The Low Down on Crystals, Part 2

Isn’t Lead Poisonous?
Part 2 of 5 Part Series on Understanding Crystal as a Material



But you say: “Lead?!?! I’ve seen enough public service announcements with babies chewing on paint chips to know that lead = poison.”

Sounds scary, but let’s all stay calm, the lead, or really lead oxide in these crystals is bound into the structure of the crystals and cannot readily leak out. An article on Beadboard.net includes a letter from Swarovski which cites experiments that have been conducted on its crystal to test the safety of the lead content:

“Because of this structure, lead crystal poses no significant risk of excessive lead exposure to human health via surface contact (hand to mouth), mouthing or even ingestion. Indeed, Swarovski crystals have been tested under a variety of test methods for extractable lead. Test conditions and procedures do vary, but lead levels are well below regulatory limits even when the crystal is tested in an acid solution to maximize the release of lead.”

So, the lead content in crystals is totally safe to be used in jewelry for everyday wear. However, I advise against sticking crystals on the ends of sticks and sucking on them as lollipops, or crushing them up into your power pro-biotic smoothie, even if, according to Swarovski, that wouldn’t be too much of a health hazard (pointy shards aside…).

*A quick warning about leaded crystal decanters and goblets: these do pose a bit of a problem since alcohol, as well as acidic substances like juices and vinegars, encourage the leaching of lead into the solution, and can cause lead poisoning though ingestion if these liquids are kept in the containers for an extended period of time (approx. over two weeks). Use crystal glasses and decanters right before serving and you should be fine.*

Also, the process of making the lead oxide does expose factory workers to toxic chemicals and we can only hope that they are adequately protected (I’m talking to you, China). There is also an ecological impact to lead mining that should be noted.

If you are worried about the ecological impact of all the lead in the crystals, you can always opt for the lead-free varieties of crystals. The highest quality I’ve found is the Spectra or Alternative Quality line of crystals from Swarovski. They are composed of glass, and cut differently from leaded crystal in order to best capture the shine of the glass medium. For comparable quality at a lower price, I suggest Turkish crystals. These are hand-cut and polished, and also shimmer well for glass. But I have to say that after a long time of comparing the two, glass, no matter how it is cut, can never look as stunning and brilliant as full lead crystal sparkling in light.

So, where do all these pretty little crystals come from? (Part 3)


Sources:
Personal Experience
http://www.cristalier.com/
http://www.chandelierparts.com/aboutourcrystal.aspx
http://www.beadboard.net/lead-swarovski-crystal-beads

The Low Down on Crystals, Part 1

What is Crystal Made of?
Part 1 of 5 Part Series on Understanding Crystals as a Material

So what is a crystal really? Well, that’s tricky to answer. It’s clear when trying to purchase pieces for chandeliers or jewelry making, the quality can vary greatly based on the composition, the cut, and the country of origin of the piece of crystal. I’ve learned some interesting facts about crystals from my mother, who has been designing chandeliers for some time now—and she has worked with just about every type of crystal imaginable—and also from my own meanderings into jewelry making and buying beads to that end.

Conservatively, we say that only a bead which has at least 24% lead content is labeled crystal (also called “full-lead” crystal). However, in America the rules are more lenient, and any optically clear glass can be called crystal even though there is 0% lead content. There are even American manufacturers of acrylic crystal (high-quality plastic—not something I would put on a chandelier…).

Here’s another way of categorization, by an American crystal company:

“Crystal falls into the 3 main categories. Fine Crystal or Crystalline is made from a glass mixture that contains 6% - 10% lead oxide. Lead Crystal is made from a glass mixture that contains 10% - 24% lead oxide and Full Lead Crystal is made from a glass mixture that contains 24% lead oxide or more.”

Some manufacturers go above and beyond that 24% mark. High quality crystal usually has about 30% lead content, but the best of the best can get up to 70% lead content, the fois gras of crystals being Swarovski Austrian Crystals (all have at least 32% percent, except for a special line of lead-free crystals they produce). Fun fact: Swarovski’s brand of chandelier crystal, Strass, provides the crystals in the chandeliers at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City as well as the Chateaux at Versailles, Paris. If it’s hanging in a world-class setting, the chandelier is clothed in Strass crystals.

But wait, did you say lead? (Part 2)

Sources:
Personal Experience
http://www.cristalier.com

http://www.chandelierparts.com/aboutourcrystal.aspx