Featured Crystal identification

I too like crystal, but there is a lot of it out there. Here are some of my guidelines I use to help me from getting way more then I can handle.
1. Do not buy unsigned crystal for resale, it is hard to sell, but buy it if you like it and plan on keeping it for your use.

2. Look carefully for the signatures and marks. Sometimes they can be hard to spot until the light hits them just right.

3. A good LED penlight is a must have for finding signatures. Take one with you shopping. Some acid etched signatures are very faint. If you buy something, take it into a dark room and look it over using the LED light , you might find the signature.

4. Look at as much of it as you can. Handling it, looking for signatures is all good experience. You will also get a feel for the weight and clarity.

5 if you have a “feeling” about a piece and the price is right, go for it. Just be prepared to live with it if your wrong.

6 never buy chipped or “flea bite’ items. Feel along the edges and rims with your finger to find damage.

 

Great tips!! Does heavier weight mean it’s better quality?

 

Also. Luckily, where i thrift they price everything dirt cheap. I paid $13 for both bowls and the decanter. Even if they aren’t anything at all I think they are pretty!

 

The decanter looks like it might be the Lismore cut pattern by Waterford. It should have an acid-etched signature on the bottom if so - they can sometimes be faint and hard to see.

I looked for a matching decanter, but didn't see one. The Replacements site doesn't have photos for every item.

Pattern: https://www.replacements.com/webquote/watlis.htm

Just decanters: https://www.replacements.com/search...110969&pat=WATLIS&pname=Lismore&num_found=107

 

I now own all my folks crystal & lead glass...to go along with my own , purchased over many years.
While I like their Val St. Lambert...I have trays and pitchers and plates ...old and new...good and bad....chipped and solid..........that I have less than any use for or idea what to do with.
Your kids.......kiddos.....will not be impressed !
Sorry....but it is what it is !

 

Heavier weight means it has more lead content. Much European lead crystal has up to 24% lead oxide.the best will have up to 30%. Crystal stemware with as little as 4% will ring.

 

no....just means it's heavier.........

 

i sold my mother's waterford hibernia cookie jars last year. 6 pieces for about USD220. when i first did some research, the price on Replacement and eBay (sold listings always give a better estimate) made me smile but i soon realised that it is not so in reality

edit: some crystal items only have paper labels and those will be washed off if they are used items. luckily waterford has their products etch

 

I think I’m going to buy an led penlight and a magnifying glass to see if I can find any markings. I thought it looked very similar to lismore also, but the top throws me. (I didn’t take a pic of that). Mine has a little lip i guess you would call it all around in a square shape. All of the lismore decanters that I see have a seam running straight up on all four corners. So I’m not sure.

 

Meh. I think that depends on the family. This kind of stuff is very important on my SO’s side of the family. Heritage, things that get passed down, etc. His family has things that have been in his family for years and are things that are displayed, treasured and taken care of. Our babes have the same respect for it. I know it’s not important to everyone, but my SO and I want something we can pass to our kids too besides the things they will already receive that have been in the family for generations. And if they hate it-well, so be it. I’ll be dead and gone and they can do what they like. Lololol

 

I think I will just stick to buying what I enjoy for now. I don’t mind reselling things. But I wouldn’t want to resell things I actually like. Lol.

 

great approach! enjoy what you buy

waterford mark is actually quite easy to discern by eye with the light hitting it at the correct angle, so might not need penlight or magnifying glass

 

I have a waterford glass set that we bought new. So i know it’s waterford. It still took me 15 minutes to find on the base. Maybe I just need glasses

 

His family has things that have been in his family for years and are things that are displayed, treasured and taken care of.
Yes, indeed..... cherished items with family history.....those items can bind the generations !!

I don’t feel like I know enough yet. my local thrift always has a decent amount of crystal.Even if I don’t ever resell. Will be nice to have it to pass down to our kiddos.
Stuff like this... not so much...

 

sounds like Beckie’s children are far far different from my mother’s child

 

I have a loupe with an LED light built in that I take with me shopping. I forget where I got it, but it is really handy.
Waterford is relatively easy to find the acid etch signature. But I bought some English Brierley Crystal was a real bugger to find the signature on. on many pieces it was inside the cuts on the bottom or very faint. It took me quite awhile to find them. In fact on 1 piece I gave up trying to find it, I'm 99% sure it is there somewhere since every other piece was signed, but that one eludes me. I have a few pieces which took me several attempts to find a signature, those were Early American Cut Glass, with very busy patterns. I bought them as a lot from somebody who didn't deal in glass at a flea market. Took awhile to find the marks on some, but many were signed HAWKES , which is a GOOD thing!


Here is an example of a lighted loupe.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/40x-25mm-G...tCHEAcNGWIQMfsCfGkt0134xnZFNAV6CyIlc47zC6Fg==

 

My SO’s family immigrated from China. He was 9 when he came here. So their history and where they came from is very important within their family.

 

that's good to know. my mother was similar and kept a lot of our family "heirlooms". most are of no monetary value but the connections are strong. my only regret is that we didn't use the items often enough and the less than ideal storage conditions ruined many pieces. i am now using whatever i find and enjoying it tremendously

good luck with the identity of your collection!!

 

Remember crystal is just glass with lead in it. In the EU it means 24% USA makers used crystal to mean clear no color lead or no lead in the formula. If the presence of lead in the glass is important then I recommend a short wave UV light to show it.