Engraved Crystal Bowls and Vases

You may be surprised to know that although the use of glass for both domestic and decorative purposes has been around for more than 1000 years. The actual use of lead crystal did not come into being until the late 16 hundredths when Crossman first began to use it. However, it was a number of years before they mastered the craft of cutting polishing and engraving it.

The actual word Crystal derives from the Italian glassmakers from Morano, who operated from a small Island, near the grand Canal in Venice. In order for the material to be called lead crystal it must contain a minimum of 24% lead oxide. The definition of is a silica-based glass. One of the most famous names in class was George Ravencroft and it was he who first created this new kind of glass, which was made from potash, crushed flint, sand and lead oxide. The name given to this kind of glass was lead crystal and it was found to be softer and therefore easier to work with to create different shapes and designs and it was also much easier to engrave.

There are now many famous names of manufacturers of lead crystal and probably one of the best known of all is Waterford Crystal, which is manufactured in Ireland. The glassware that this famous company produce is second to none and has been used in presentations by American presidents, Olympic prizes and in some of the most opulent houses and companies around the world. Unfortunately, despite its worldwide acclaim. The company itself has struggled over the last 25 years to stay in business. Despite the fact that it is based in Ireland as seen as an Irish company, it was in fact founded by Charles backache, who was a Czech immigrants in 1947. Despite their demise Waterford Crystal is still very much in demand.

Engraved lead crystal bowls and engrave vases are particularly popular with the more upmarket sports such as golf, badminton, horse riding, et cetera. It is seen very much as being and exclusive product yet it is possible to buy engraved lead crystal where, at very reasonable prices. BTC Group have been selling engraved crystal vases and bowls since 1977. Whereas up until 10 to 15 years ago or engraved glass walls branded using either hand engravers or machining greatness. This is no longer the caseas sandblasting is now used to brand over 95% of all pieces of presentation crystal. It is no longer necessary for a worker to spend many months or even years learning the art of hand engraving is this is done simply using a tissue stencil and a sandblasting box.

This may sound as if it is a second-class system, but in fact sandblast engraving is far better, especially if you are looking to reproduce fine detail the sort that you would find in company crests or logos etc. It is also much faster than hand engraving as a long list of names and text can be produced in just a few minutes by inexperienced sandblast.

Please contact the BTC Group sales teams for further details of our engraved presentation crystal bowls or vases.