Classic chandeliers made of crystal, glass or plastic?
Added 18.3.2020 10:35.34
High-quality crystal lighting fixtures have always the highest quality crystal trimmings that are produced on the most modern grinding machines. When switched on, the lighting fixtures thus reach an exceptionally high gloss, when decomposition of the light spectrum multiplies the bulb´s power through the crystal trimmings.
Is it glass or crystal?
There is a difference between crystal and glass. It is determined according to the adopted legislation in each country. Mostly it means that the word crystal means the percentage of lead oxide.
In Europe: EU rules state that glass goods containing less than 4% lead oxide are defined as "glass", glassware with a lead content of more than 10% being "crystal" and glass containing more than 30% lead oxide, is referred to as "high lead crystal".
In the US: for the US, 1% of lead oxide is enough and glass is qualified as crystal.
Other countries: For producers of other countries, the question of the meaning of words and the term of crystal is such that they use Crystal or Crystalin for any "refined" high quality clear glass.
In general, "lead crystal" is a product with more than 24% lead oxide. The presence of lead oxide gives the glass a higher gloss after grinding. Lead oxide adds glass to the weight and causes the glass breaks the light so shatters the rays going through the glass into rainbow colors and reflect the whole ligh spectrum.
Manufacturers also use glass marked "crystal" containing less than standard 24% lead oxide. However, this has a higher percentage of barium oxide, which ensures high quality glass and light refraction.
If you buy a "crystal chandelier" made of ordinary glass, then it will miss the essentials – refraction of light, which offer only real crystal trimmings – the chandeliers do not sparkle and do not strenghten the power of light from the bulbs. To avoid disappointment, always be interested in the quality of the glass parts.
The special chapter is "crystal chandeliers" made of acrylic plastics. They completely deny their main purpose for which they were made, when besides the aesthetic value they should multiply the force of light from the bulbs. Thanks to heat from the bulbs, plastic rapidly degrades and goes gray. Craftsmanship of such chandeliers corresponds to their low price...
