This question has come up many times especially since we started selling hand crafted crystal and art glass awards so I decided to make this my this weeks blog topic. Yes ! even a good quality crystal can have fine lines and bubbles. However a good quality Optic Crystal should [...]

This question has come up many times especially since we started selling hand crafted crystal and art glass awards so I decided to make this my this weeks blog topic.
Yes ! even a good quality crystal can have fine lines and bubbles. However a good quality Optic Crystal should not have any fine lines or bubbles. But remember despite having bubbles and fine lines many times crystal can be more expensive than optic crystal and things made from art glass even more expensive. Having fine lines or bubbles is not the only deciding factor for either price or quality of a product. Confused. Don’t worry. Just read on and in a matter of minutes you will have more clarity on what is Optic Crystal, Crystal and Art Glass?
Firstly all crystal or optic crystal or art glass or lead glass or float glass belong to one family Glass. Yes you have read it right even crystal is fundamentally glass.
Glass is turned into crystal by adding lead oxide. Lead oxide makes the glass clear, heavier, softer and more refractive. There are many different grades of crystal depending on how much lead is added to glass. Again content of lead alone may not qualify for a better quality of crystal. A number of other factors such as final application the process of making are equally important.
Many of the crystal items are made directly from molten glass either by hand or by machines and this is the reason why fine lines and tiny bubbles can come while making pieces as air tries to escape hot molten glass. But with advance techniques and using better quality raw material and workmanship this can be avoided in a machine controlled environment like when drinking glasses are made but when it comes to handcrafting each piece which is especially the case in our awards industry this is is not possible and fine lines and bubbles are bound to come in lead crystal pieces. Click here to see an Example of Lead Crystal Award, Hand crafted Crystal Award.

Optic Crystal on the other hand is 100% lead free crystal. This type of crystal is very hard and perfect for engraving. 90% of our crystal awards are made of Optic Crystal. Within Optic Crystal also there are various varieties the best among the lot is K9 A grade crystal. This is the crystal which does not have a yellowish tinge or turn yellow with time. In this crystal having fine lines and even small bubbles inside the crystal is a poor sign of quality. Click here to see our range of Optic Crystal Awards.
Hope this help. As always please share your comments below and if there is some new knowledge you can share I would be happy to learn.

This article will give you a good overview about different types of sheet glass available so that you could choose the most appropriate one for your award. This article does not cover any detail about the vast array of other glass type which is available such as molten glass, lead glass etc.

Green, Jade, White, Black, Red, Blue, Grey, Star fire…… Confused with the colors?? What’s more confusing is that green glass does not look like green and white is not pure white. This is one common question every one asks us when they are buying glass awards for the first time. So here are the details. Please note that all of the following information is what I have learned being in the award industry for 10 years. I make awards and not glasses so if you want information on glass for any other application other than awards and gifts than this may not be the right article for you. Green Glass or Jade Glass: This is the most common type of glass you can see all around you. It is called green or Jade glass because it has a tinge of green in the glass. Normally this tinge is only visible around the edges. if you have a large pane of glass and you cannot see the edges you normally will not be able to make out the difference between green glass and white glass. If you are working with an award supplier and you do not mention which type of glass than this is the standard glass which will be given. This glass usually comes in thickness starting from 2 mm to 19 mm. This glass is also available in 25mm thickness but it is not commonly available so for all practical purposes we do not consider that it exist. Many people give glass awards and crystal awards with laser engraving that is a big short cut which I do not like and the text does not come out clear on this. See the circle green glass award engraved. Do notice the green glass reflection around the edges and on the base.

Green Glass Award

White Glass/ Starfire Glass / Extra Clear Glass / Clear Glass Yes all mean the same glass. This glass has a very light blue tinge to it which one can see from the edges. If you see from a distance it gives a reflection of white itself. When we engrave on white glass the artwork gets a slightly white shimmering touch to it which looks absolutely brilliant. When it comes to glass awards white glass is our most preferred choice as it brings the artwork alive. If you have a very detailed artwork. We would highly recommend that you spend a little extra and choose white glass instead of green glass. Usually this glass is available in 5 mm to 19 mm thickness. I am not sure why it is called Starfire but this is the name for this glass in US. In India most people call it extra clear glass/ white glass.

White Glass Engraved Award

All Other Colors Colored Glass All other colors such as red, grey, black, blue are special color glasses which are available but not regularly. They are usually available in the thickness of 12 mm and not more. Following images will give a good idea about different types of colored glass and how they are used in awards. Red Glass

Red Color Glass Plaque

Blue Glass In this award both top and base are made from Blue color glass. The Globe used in the award is a crystal globe.

Blue Color Glass Award with Crystal Globe

Black Glass Award

Black Glass Golf Award

Hope this information is of help to you. I would like to hear from you if you have more questions or comments. If anything I have written here is not correct please feel free to inform me as learning is an ongoing process.

What’s the difference between acrylic and plexi glass? What is the maximum thickness of glass? We want our logo engraved with exact color matching, Is it possible? What is 3D engraving inside crystal? …. Over the years we have answered hundreds and thousands of such questions for our customers. Many [...]

What’s the difference between acrylic and plexi glass? What is the maximum thickness of glass? We want our logo engraved with exact color matching, Is it possible? What is 3D engraving inside crystal? ….

Over the years we have answered hundreds and thousands of such questions for our customers. Many times we are servicing first time buyers who may not know a lot about awards, to make a choice at that situation can be really difficult and most of the times there is no room for errors.

Then we decided to put all the questions which our customers ask frequently online, for every ones convenience. So, if you have any question do send to us and we will post the answer here. All answers are written internally by the Pinnacle Team. Often we may get our answers from other sites on the internet or books, in all such cases we provide link to its original source so that you can explore the topic in greater depth in case you wish to.