A Guide to Chandelier Crystals
If you’re looking for a chandelier or any other light fixture with crystals, you should be aware of the facts regarding the chandelier crystals utilised in today’s fixtures. This crucial information will assist you in making the best purchase for your personal style, space, and budget. Plus, your increased understanding of chandelier bling will astound your friends and family!
The fundamentals of crystal chandeliers
Glass is used to make all crystals. The glass used to make chandelier crystals, on the other hand, is very different from the glass used in your windows, drinking cups, eyeglasses, and other items. Crystal has greater weight and refraction than ordinary glass because it contains lead oxide. This indicates that the crystal is more dazzling, sparkly, and prismatic.
Lead oxide content is vital in chandelier crystals, yet it is also harmless for users’ health. The general rule is that the more lead oxide in a crystal, the more it reflects light, hence the higher the lead oxide content, the better. Lead oxide is divided into three categories.
1. Crystalline glass has a lead oxide content of 6 to 10%, while American standards allow transparent glass with any lead oxide content to be considered crystal.
2. A half-lead designation denotes a lead oxide content of 24 to 30 percent.
3. Anything with more than 30% lead oxide is considered a full lead crystal.
Machine cut, hand-cut, and hand-blown crystals are the three most common ways to make chandelier crystals.
Sharp facets, accurate polishing, and aesthetic purity are all produced by machine-cut crystals.
Traditional methods for cutting and polishing hand-cut crystals include using irons and sandstone wheels, followed by polishing on a wood wheel with marble dust. Hand-cut crystals can, however, be created using more sophisticated technologies. Hand-cut crystals come in a variety of shapes and sizes, including Czech, Heritage, Regal, Crystalique, and Turkish.
Because Venetian and Murano’s gems are hand-blown rather than cut, they feature smooth, rounded edges. The mouth-blown technique creates one-of-a-kind heirloom-quality works of art.
Chandelier crystal types
Now that you’ve learned the three basic methods of crystal crafting, here are some crystal types you might come across while looking for chandeliers.
- Rock crystals The oldest crystal chandeliers, which date back to the 16th century, used rock crystals to replace genuine wax candles as a technique of intensifying and reflecting light. Rock crystals are as old as the Earth itself, and each one is unique, the result of millions of years of geological activity. Rock crystals are naturally cool to the touch and must be mined, cut, and polished by gem cutters.
- Asfour crystals are the finest crystal in the world, and it’s certainly the first thing that comes to mind when you think of crystals. It’s crystal clear, faultless, and brilliantly pure. It was made by machine and contains more than 30% lead. An optical coating is applied to some Asfour crystals to make cleaning easier. Coloured Asfour crystals are also available. Which we used in our chandelier to provide you with the perfect crystal chandeliers ever, There is also a quality mark engraved on the crystal that allows you to distinguish between real and fraudulent crystal.
- Turkish Crystal (Hand Cut, Heritage Hand cut, Regal), the techniques for creating this sort of crystal extend back hundreds of years. Crystal is cut by hand in two phases on iron and then sandstone grinding wheels in a labour-intensive procedure. The crystals are then polished using marble dust on a wood wheel. As a symbol of authenticity, you may find minor remnants of the wood wheel in the final works.
- Venetian crystal is moulded rather than cut and comes from Venice, Italy. It has round edges due to fire polishing and contains soda and lime instead of lead oxide, giving it a softer appearance. Although it lacks the brilliance of cut crystal, it is an excellent affordable option for some customers. Murano crystals are similar in that they are mouth-blown and can be moulded into circles, flowers, and other shapes.
- Egyptian or Gem cut crystals have a high lead oxide content. They are clear, sharp, and flawless, but not as optically pure as Asfour crystals.
- K9 and Chinese Crystal are great choices for value-minded consumers. Mass-produced, it is cut and polished to look like more expensive grades of crystal, plus it features precise facets.
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