Crystal and glass products are sustainable products. Each piece of crystal is 100% recyclable with over a ton of natural resources saved for every ton of crystal and glass recycled. Energy costs of production of glass products containing crystal are lower than without using recycled products. Every piece of crystal can be completely recycled, if you have the heart to break it.How to Identify Markings on the Bottom of Crystal Antiques Collecting antiques can be a fulfilling hobby, providing great investment potential as well as possible financial rewards, if you ever decide to sell your collection. Crystal antiques come in every possible shape and size you can imagine -- from animal figurines to ashtrays, chandeliers, vases, bowls and dishes. Identifying the markings on crystal is relatively easy, if you know how to go about it. Turn over your crystal antique so you can view the bottom. Make sure you have plenty of light. Look for the mark, and make sure you can see it clearly.

Check with a jeweler’s loupe or magnifying glass, to enlarge the mark. If you still can't make it out, take a photo with a digital camera. Load the photo onto your computer, where it will be enlarged so you can see the mark more easily. Look for the mark in books like "Glass of the World" by George Savage, made especially for people wanting to identify their crystal antiques. how to identify waterford crystal chandelierMany identification books show photos of similar items you can compare to your crystal piece. chandelier tekstowo siaOther books such as "Miller's Antique Encyclopedia" by Judith Miller show the actual maker's marks, to help you identify yours.crystal chandelier hartford wi Compare the maker's mark on your item to those in reference books.

Also, compare the entire piece to those pictured for help with dating. Look online at websites showing maker's marks and shop marks, to help with identification. Contact local antique dealers and auctioneers specializing in crystal for help identifying, dating and valuing your item. If you purchase crystal antiques often, it’s a good idea to have several books on hand to help you identify them. Some antique items are very valuable, and without proper identification, you may miss financial gains if you sell them and don’t realize what you have. Not all items are marked, and many marks are not identifiable. Many old marks were never recorded. The best way to identify a piece like this is by style, comparing it to photos of similar items from the same period and country, if possible. Miller's Antique Encyclopedia: Judith Miller Glass of the World: George Savage Crystal stemware marks go unnoticed on most pieces of fine glassware, ... Locate the name of the cutting or etching to complete...

Crystal figurines are beautiful items to collect and, if you are a collector, knowing how to identify their unique markings can help... Crystal Stemware Identification Guide. How to Identify Crystal Stemware Marks. Crystal stemware marks go unnoticed on most pieces of fine glassware,... Lead Crystal Glass Identification. Cut glass and lead crystal glass are not the same thing. Crystal stemware marks go unnoticed on... China is a term used in the pottery and ceramics world to identify high-quality porcelain originally made only in China. Look for a mark. Antique crystal, if made by a well-known company such as Waterford or Swarovski, ... How to Identify Markings... Identification of the maker and age of a crystal decanter will help determine the value, ... Use a magnifying glass to scan... Feel your crystal antique punch bowl for weight. Try weighing your piece in general. Antique leaded crystal is generally heavier than glass. Look for the following well-known crystal makers: Baccarat, J.G. Durand, Royal Leerdam, ...

Crystal stemware marks go unnoticed on most pieces of... ... which can make proper identification of an antique piece difficult. Antique Marks: Antiques Glossary; The Find: Antique Brass Makers Marks; Like a signature on a painting, a maker mark identifies the creator of artistic work. 925-1000 Online Encyclopedia: ... How to Date Baccarat Crystal Glass. How to Identify Real Waterford Crystal. Antique crystal and regular cut glass can be identified by tapping a teaspoon against the surface, as real crystal will sound a... How to Build and Grow a Salad Garden On Your Balcony How to Identify Antique Crystal from Glass How to Identify Antique Crystal How to Identify Factory Marks on Antique Vases How to Identify Antique Glassware Markings How to Identify Antique Glass Bottles — When tourists come to the ancient Irish town of Waterford, they naturally stop at its oldest building, a stalwart circular tower built by Reginald the Dane in 1003.

But Waterford's most popular attraction is far less romantic and venerable. It's the Waterford Glass Factory.Although the factory is modern, the crystal is made by an age-old process, blown by mouth and cut by hand. Within, craftsmen perform a mysterious alchemy, transmulting by fire the raw materials of silica sand, red lead, and potash into the gleaming crystal that decorates palaces, churches, embassies, and opulent homes the world over.Tours (in groups of six or less) begin in the factory showroom, which glints with all the patterns and permutations of Waterford. No hard sell, though; in fact, you cannot by anything on the premises.As we walked over to the factory, our guide, Hilda, told us the history of Waterford glass.In 1783, two brothers, George and William Penrose, but up $:10,000 -- no fortune, even then -- and founded a flint-glass factory in Waterford. Waterford won medals at exhibitions, and was eagerly sought at home and abroad. But during the 18th century, licenses, export duties, and high wages became crippling.

In 1851 the factory closed.It remained closed for a hundred years. Then, in 1951, a handful of Irish businessmen, eager to support both Irish industry and Irish tradition, got Waterford going again. They imported glass-blowing masters from Germany and Italy and master cutters and engravers from Czechoslovakia. Today in WAterford you find a lot of un-Irish names among the Murphys and the Kellys.The venture paid off. Waterford is now the largest producer of high-quality crystal in the world, employing 25,000 people, most of whom are Irish.There are four stages in the manufacture of crystal: blowing, cutting, polishing, and packing and quality control. The blowing is done in a huge room like an aircraft hangar, Each master blower with a team of three or four helpers works around his own furnace. He uses traditional tools: hollow irons and wooden templates. (The furnaces, though, are modern and are never allowed to go out, because it would take weeks to heat them again.)We watched one team making pitchers.

A lump of molten glass at white heat was taken from the furnace and blown into a perfect bulb. Waste glass was cracked off at the top and the lip was fashioned. Then the handle was attached, the artisan all the while swinging the piece to keep its shape. It isn'tI was struck by how young many of the workers were. They are apprenticed at the age of 16. It takes five years to become a qualified blower or cutter, and another three years to master the trade.We move on to watch half a dozen girls marking rought lines in black wax crayon on uncut glasses. These lines serve as guides for the cutters, although they looked far too imprecise to be useful.In the next room rows of the cutters sat at their cutting wheels. Orginally the wheels were turned by apprentices, later by steam. Today they are electric, which makes them faster and sharper. With this single cutting edge, and the deftness of his hands, the cutter fashions all the beautiful and intricate Waterford patterns.Each man works on his own pieces, in his own private world -- cutters are encouraged to wear earplugs or radio headphones to protect them from the whine of the wheels.

The first deep cuts are made on a carborundum wheel; they are then polished and smoothed on a sandstone wheel.Cutters are paid by the piece, so they cannot afford to make mistakes. Each piece is checked before being stamped "Waterford."But no piece is perfect," said Hilda. "How could anything made by hand possibly be?"I also visited the engravers' room, not normally open to visitors because of the exacting concentration the work demands. In this room, craft becomes art. The engravers work on various collectors' items -- sporting trophies, commemorative pieces, limited editions. Completely freehand, using a small, electric-powered copper wheel, the engraver creates three-dimensional designs and pictures in the glass, often taking weeks over a single motif.Waterford commemorates most Irish historical and sporting events. I watched the engravers working on vases depicting scenes from Shakespeare and -- my favorite pieces -- Waterford globes. These hollow glass globes are engraved with precise latituded and longtitude, and the continents are depicred in heavy diamond cutting.