Artificial crystal. All about crystal dishes
We are used to the fact that in a good establishment drinks are served in crystal, and at home they keep it for special occasions.
It is necessary to handle it gently: wash only by hand, with special means, and try not to break or scratch. To save money, we used to use glass with a slightly modified composition. It is stronger than crystal, but the walls are thick, the edges do not play in the light, there is no such crystal transparency and melodic ringing. Finally, 10 years ago, crystal glass appeared that looks exactly like crystal, but does not contain harmful lead and is much stronger.
This glass looks good both in an expensive restaurant and in a wine bar, it can be washed in the dishwasher and dropped without risk.
How is crystal made?
They began to make artificial crystal, imitating natural - it is also rock crystal, a kind of quartz, from which jewelry is made. Artificial crystal contains 24% lead oxide, which is smelted together with silicon, soda, and other oxides. For the first time with such a composition, crystal was made by the English master George Ravenscroft in 1676.
Lead makes glass plastic. Therefore, crystal glasses have such thin walls, you can make very small parts and decorate with a net of edges or an engraved pattern. The second thing that lead is responsible for is the refraction of light. That is why the crystal is so transparent and plays so effectively on the edges. Outwardly, it looks like a cut diamond flickers - hence the association with something precious, luxurious. However, the constant replacement of broken crystal is costly, and factories have been looking for other compounds over the centuries to give the dishes their strength.
How is crystal glass made?
Previously, crystal glass was considered one in which lead oxide is less than in crystal - 13-23%, and potassium oxides - 17%. Such, for example, were traditional Venetian and Czech glass, but they are still referred to as crystal.
Manufacturers are now moving away from lead, which is considered a toxic heavy element. Instead of lead oxide, for example, silicon and titanium are added - as they do in. The brand makes glasses, decanters and decanters from the patented Tritan ™ material, the exact composition of which is kept secret. The finished dishes are quenched in contrasting water baths at a temperature of 15 to 70 degrees, cooled and carefully polished, and the cut is made with a laser along an even soft edge so that it is perfectly even and thin.
As a result, dishes made of such glass are very durable, transparent, beautifully refracts light, like real crystal. The thin walls are unbreakable and the glasses are dishwasher safe. To make them even stronger, vulnerable areas are slightly thickened and compacted.
In a word, modern looks like crystal, but much stronger and more harmless to the body. This combination is an ideal move for establishments where tableware is needed both presentable and practical.
Crystal glassware has been valuable for several centuries and the cost of crystal does not fall, on the contrary, now manual labor has become even more expensive. Do you know how crystal is made and how to distinguish crystal from glass? Did you know that there is colored crystal and two-layer crystal, the crown of glass art?
I cannot imagine a woman indifferent to beautiful dishes, and crystal dishes are very beautiful and, moreover, expensive, this always adds "beauty". Crystal glasses, wine glasses, vases ... Crystal glassware has a special energy, warmth, it is pleasant to touch it.
Luxurious crystal glasses are always a great gift, the Posud tableware online store: meister.ua offers high quality crystal and glass tableware.
How crystal is made
The main constituent of glass is quartz sand, by heating it with other chemicals, you can get a viscous liquid that can be molded or blown into a certain shape. With the addition of lead dioxide, lead crystal can be obtained, it is much more pliable and a complex pattern can be cut on its surface.
How to tell glass from crystal
Classic crystal contains -24% lead oxide, in some products this substance is up to 30%.
According to European standards, a glass product that contains lead oxide:
- less than 4% is not crystal and belongs to the category "glass"
- more than 10% belongs to the category "crystal glass"
- 24% - "crystal"
- more than 30% - "crystal with a high content of lead oxide"
The famous Bohemian crystal does not contain lead oxide, potassium-calcium glass is added instead, and barium crystal is also available.
What are all these supplements for? Lead oxide adds nobility to the finished product, it gets a "voice", a delicate sound from contact, its color is absolutely transparent, crystal products seem warm and pleasant to the touch, crystal products especially shimmer and sparkle in the sun. All these qualities can be possessed only by the products of their crystal.
Colored crystal and double layer crystal
Colored crystal is less known, products made of colored crystal have all the qualities of crystal. To give the crystal color at the manufacturing stage, various metal oxides are added, giving beautiful colors - pure blue, pink, green, purple. 
The most valuable is overhead crystal, it can be called an artistic work of glass art. Such crystal has two layers, one of them is colored and the other is transparent. When the product is ready, the artist removes the top colored crystal during cutting and transparent edges appear. Highly artistic cutting can only be performed by a professional of the highest level, this must be a virtuoso in his field. Therefore, products made of two-layer crystal are the most expensive in their kind.
Good news: the persecution of crystal is over. Once His Excellency was hastily declared a tasteless legacy of Soviet sideboards, and now crystal is a shining star of fashionable interior design and table setting. Well, where there is fashion, trend and hype, there are fakes and imitation. To learn how the correct crystal is made, VV correspondents went to the oldest domestic crystal factory - the glass capital of Russia, the city of Gus-Khrustalny.
City within city
Galina Vlasova, our guide to the world of sparkling diamond facets, intricate shapes and fragile luxury, meets us at the entrance of the Gusev Crystal Factory. Galina Mikhailovna is local, Gusevskaya, her entire professional life, like many townspeople, is associated with the plant. She started at a machine tool, then she got a specialty of a technologist - she studied at a university without interrupting work, and for the last few years Vlasova has been a tour guide, chronicler, and curator of museum funds. It seems that she knows everything about the secrets of glass making and the history of the "crystal city in the city". With a slight sadness, he recalls that once the city-forming enterprise had 6,000 workers on its staff. It was prestigious and profitable to work at the plant, traditions were followed, innovation was supported.
And now?
And even now there is something to brag about, - Galina Mikhailovna patriotically declares and leads us ... to the store.
The outlet at the GKhZ is a small space, and the assortment is worthy of large-scale exhibition halls. The showcases display an abundance, a variety of shapes and colors: here is a sapphire vase, here is a red glass, here is a black and white decanter and green wine glasses. However, the prices are "biting": beautiful, but expensive.
This work cannot be cheap, - assures Vlasova. - Now you will see for yourself what hard work it is - at every stage of production. Although I am not surprised at the reaction. We bring all the tourist guests to the store. First they say: "Oh, how expensive!" - and after the excursion they already think that it is not expensive at all. After all, almost every product is exclusive, handmade. And our specialists are unique.
One of these unique specialists is the engraver Maxim Morozov. Recently he became a diploma winner at the All-Russian Exhibition-Fair of Folk Art Crafts “BOAT. Spring Fantasy-2018 ".
He came to the plant as an apprentice - he grew up as a foreman. He mastered the basics of engraving under the guidance of Vladimir Anatolyevich Mitrofanov.
Maxim's "cell" is forced, there is nowhere to turn around: bottles and vases languish in boxes in anticipation of a miracle. On each engraver he will apply the finest drawing and everything - with pens.
Millimeter-by-millimeter Maxim etches the crystal surface of the empty lenses-windows: soon trees will grow here, strange birds will nest on the branches ...
Bookmark - according to the "recipe"
Passages, stairs, corridors ... And here we are at the “open-hearth furnaces”. Galina Mikhailovna was right: making crystal beauty is a daunting and hard work.
On the dais, a semicircle, stoves are seething, playing with orange flames. Glass melt is brewed in furnace pots - the basis of future masterpieces.
The correct crystal, namely this is produced by the Gusev Crystal Factory, contains 24% lead oxide. From plumbum (lead in Latin Plumbum; in the periodic table is indicated by the symbol Pb. - Approx. ed.) depends on the purity of the crystal, its sound and weight: it is lead that gives the weight of the elite dishes.
The heat is felt even at the foot of the stoves. Upstairs and completely unaccustomed to unbearable. The crystal base is boiled at a very high temperature - 1450 degrees, and shaped at 1200 degrees.
Heat Resistant Blowers
Yevgeny Gusev's team is working near the ovens today. There is no fuss, but everything happens very quickly. The team works like a debugged mechanism, clearly knowing who and what should be doing at a particular moment. Otherwise it is impossible: you just gape a little - all the work is down the drain, and it is dangerous to yawn near fire-breathing stoves and burners.
Glass mass is taken out of the vent with a long tube. With perfected movements, they are transferred to the form, constantly turned over, twisted so that the molten glass does not flow away and does not cool down ahead of time. There is clarity in every movement.
At one end of the tube there is a honey drop, at the other end there is a rubber bulb, which is fed into the air droplets. But if you need to inflate the crystal to a large size, the pear will not be enough, and then (as it was a hundred years ago, and two hundred), the worker uses the power of his lungs. And now, before our very eyes, a young strong man - assistant foreman Vladimir Katkov is gaining a full chest of hot air and through a self-blowing tube sends it to the heart of the future crystal piece.
In recent history, the plant has relied on brightness - monochromatic colored items or items with a colored overlay. They are more difficult to manufacture, but the result is worth the effort. The master lowers a colorless drop of crystal into a centrifuge, where the color has already been mixed. Brightly and quickly, the two layers are connected: a colored patch envelops the color. Later, the overlay will be decorated with a pattern - the edges will be cut through which transparent crystal will shine.
The combination of colors is very different. During our time turquoise, cobalt (it gives a deep blue color), colorlessness and crystal of the popular honey shade were cooked in pots. For each color, special dye elements are used: selenium for red, manganese for violet, copper for green. Erbium and neodymium give a rich color range: from pink to lilac.
Take off the cap, cool the glass
After the desired shape is formed, the product is placed in an annealing oven to relieve internal stress from the high temperature and quench cooling. Otherwise, the glass or vase will fly into small pieces. Cooling "large" crystal will take a long time: large forms will spend a day in the oven. It is enough to send small products to the lehr for a couple of hours (for ordinary people, this device looks like a conveyor belt closed by a box). Gas burners are installed inside the lehr, which regulate the temperature, gradually reducing it to 40-50 degrees.
Experienced blower Sergei Dubrovin, who works next door to the main forces of Gusev's brigade, created several colored glasses in a few minutes in our presence. The assistant transferred them to the lehr, and from there they will be sent for further processing.
To begin with, the glasses will be removed from the caps - the upper part of the product, where the glass blowing tube was. For this, the glass is placed on a rotating support to the flame of a gas burner. After cutting, the product undergoes the first quality control: whether there are large bubbles, stones, curvature of the leg, whether the glass has sufficient thickness. Everything is fine? Then you are welcome - to the diamond site, beyond the diamond facets to the master polishers.
Very sharp eye
On the diamond site, vases, decanters, glasses take on the look we are used to. The famous Maltsovskaya or, as it is also called, the Gusevskaya edge is born here, making the light play, the color shine, and the crystal fan freezes with delight.
Some patterns born at the Gusevsky plant have become the standard of glassmaking. Rings, rhombuses, octahedrons, pyramids with a cut off top and cut with a cross ... They tightly cover the smooth crystal surface or, on the contrary, leave "air", giving us the opportunity to peer into the calm smooth surface of elite glass.
The diamond section is noisy - grinders installed in a row are working. At first glance - a conveyor, in fact - an individual approach to each product. The work of the grinder is delicate, here the eye-diamond is needed: the lines should lie flat, not to spoil the drawing. By the way, all employees of the GKhZ diamond section have the highest sixth grade - they can do any operation from start to finish. Experienced people!
But before proceeding with carving on crystal, it is necessary to process the edges of the product, which are sharp after cutting off the cap, on a cast-iron washer, and then mark the pattern. Today the grinder Elena Masalskaya is working on the marking. With a white marker, Elena applies an ornament to a basket vase and hands it over to the master.
A diamond wheel hums, cuts crystal, a vase turns in the skillful hands of a grinder, gradually becoming covered with an intricate pattern. Mikhail Eremeev has been working at the Gusevsky plant for forty years. How much crystal beauty passed through his machine is impossible to calculate, but interest in the work is not lost. Now, he says, it has become even more interesting: in addition to products made in the traditional Maltsov style, GKhZ produces modern ones, taking into account new trends and demand.
You won't get bored with our artists, - Mikhail laughs. - They will always come up with something new! There was an order for crystal rockets, a sailboat - difficult, but interesting. Now I am making a vase, which was invented by our young artist Berezina. Young people have their own vision that allows the plant to keep pace with the times.
At the diamond site, by the way, we met a young talented artist - Svetlana Berezina, a laureate of many prestigious exhibitions and competitions. Svetlana is a graduate of the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts and Industry. Originally from Chelyabinsk, but for several years now he has been living in Gus, working at a factory and creating truly unique crystal compositions. In her works, Berezina uses not only the possibilities of cutting and color, but also ... the gifts of nature. According to the artist's idea, twigs, cones or shells are laid over the forms, into which the fiery crystal is poured. Under the influence of high temperature, the natural material is destroyed and the burned-out remains a contour on the outer surface of the crystal. Masterpiece!
Finishing touch
To make the edge transparent, chemical treatment is needed. In a chemical polishing workshop, dishes in a cassette are dipped into a bath of acid - it corrodes and polishes the glass. Then the product is returned to the grinding area, where it is washed with water and, if necessary, matte edges are applied.
When all the stages are passed, the products are subject to strict control. Only the best, tested by the quality department, will get to the trade counters. The head of the Quality Control Department Irina Glebova knows a lot about crystal: she will notice even minor defects, ruthlessly send the failed crystal to be melted down or to be brought to mind by diamond craftsmen.
We must maintain our reputation, observe the brand, - says Irina Nikolaevna. “Everyone knows that Gusev crystal is quality, beauty, tradition and safety. It is not for nothing that fraudsters who sell plain glass are trying to pass off their goods as our products. But simple glass will not shine so much, will not sparkle, will not sound. And the weight of, for example, a salad bowl or a decanter will tell the buyer whether he is holding crystal in his hands or a glass fake.
Each GKhZ product is supplied with a sticker logo, packed in branded boxes and sent to stores. Particularly interesting examples of crystal art, copies of the author's commissioned works will remain at the plant.
It would be interesting to look into this museum of crystal in production ... Our guide Galina Mikhailovna kindly agrees to show the VV journalists an exemplary one.
It's just some kind of holiday!
In the exemplary - exemplary order, and the collected collection, perhaps, will compete with the Museum of Crystal. However, this is a real museum.
Model pantries were created in 1835 by a special royal decree to become a school for craftsmen. For two and a half centuries, the Gusevsky plant has amassed countless crystal treasures. Suffice it to recall that in 1981 the plant donated about 6,500 items to the funds of the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-Reserve, which were stored in the pantry.
But even today, the collection of the GKhZ amazes with the luxury and variety of exhibits. The exemplary contains the author's compositions from colored crystal on abstract topics. Here you can also see shtoffs, decanters, wine glasses, and glasses made according to the sketches of artists, launched into mass production and gaining popularity among customers. In a place of honor - custom-made souvenirs for corporations, federations and VIPs.
Here, for example, is a large violet composite vase with a diamond cut and a portrait of Patriarch Alexy II. At a distance - the crystal symbol of "Yandex", prizes for musicians and artists, winners of festivals and competitions. A separate stand for sports awards: boxing gloves, basketballs and a massive cup of Russian football champions made of high-grade glass. The famous crystal owl for connoisseurs “What? Where? When?" were also made in Gus.
It is impossible to view all the exhibits in the exemplary pantry at once. The generosity of diamond facets, brought to perfection, painting, gilding, a combination of bizarre shapes and vibrant colors. There is craftsmanship in every detail, in every bend of the frozen crystal lace. To visit the exemplary Gusevsky plant is like plunging into a fabulous looking glass, crossing the line between reality and fantasy. The reality, however, is this: Gusev crystal is our national treasure.
Newspaper headline: Plumbum in a glass
Rhinestone- a kind of quartz, one of the crystalline modifications of silica (SiO 2). The term is used to refer to colorless transparent quartz crystals. Pure, homogeneous crystals of rock crystal are relatively rare. Crystals over 3-5 cm in size are of practical importance. Crystals are so perfect and pure that in ancient times this mineral was perceived by people as petrified ice. Crystal has another interesting property: it retains its coolness to the touch, which once again suggests the idea of its icy origin. In addition, crystals of this mineral were mainly found in the mountains, among ice and snow.
See also:
STRUCTURE
Trigonal system. Silica, the most common form of which in nature is quartz, has a developed polymorphism. Two main polymorphic crystalline modifications of silicon dioxide: hexagonal β-quartz, stable at a pressure of 1 atm. (or 100 kn / m2) in the temperature range 870-573 ° C, and trigonal α-quartz, stable at temperatures below 573 ° C. It is α-quartz that is widespread in nature; this modification, stable at low temperatures, is usually called simply quartz. All hexagonal quartz crystals found under normal conditions are paramorphoses of α-quartz over β-quartz. α-quartz crystallizes in the trigonal trapezohedron class of the trigonal system. The crystal structure is of the frame type, built of silicon-oxygen tetrahedra, located helically (with a right or left screw stroke) with respect to the main axis of the crystal. Depending on this, right and left structural and morphological forms of quartz crystals are distinguished, externally distinguished by the symmetry of the arrangement of some faces (for example, a trapezohedron, etc.). The absence of planes and a center of symmetry in α-quartz crystals determines the presence of piezoelectric and pyroelectric properties in it.
PROPERTIES
The properties of the mineral are due to the absence of metal impurities in it.
With them, quartz takes on color. The main property of crystal is transparency. As with all quartz, the hardness of the transparent variety on the Mohs scale is 7 points. The mineral will draw a line on a 6-point grenade, but an 8-point sapphire cannot scratch. The density of the stone is also equal to that of the rest of the quartz at 2.64 grams per cubic centimeter. The mineral has a shell-like fracture and a characteristic glassy luster.
Often forms doubles. It dissolves in hydrofluoric acid and alkali melts. Melting point 1713-1728 ° C (due to the high viscosity of the melt, the determination of the melting point is difficult, there are different data). Dielectric and piezoelectric.
It belongs to the group of glass-forming oxides, that is, it can be the main constituent of glass. One-component pure silica quartz glass is obtained by melting rock crystal, vein quartz and quartz sand. Silicon dioxide has polymorphism. Stable under normal conditions polymorphic modification - α-quartz (low temperature). Accordingly, β-quartz is called the high-temperature modification.
MORPHOLOGY
Crystals are common in the form of a hexagonal prism, at one end (less often at both) crowned with a six- or triangular pyramidal head. Often, the crystal gradually narrows towards the head. The prism faces are characterized by cross-hatching. Most often, crystals have an elongated prismatic appearance with a predominant development of the faces of a hexagonal prism and two rhombohedrons forming the crystal head. Less commonly, crystals take the form of a pseudohexagonal dipyramid. Externally regular quartz crystals are usually complexly twinned, forming most often twinned regions according to the so-called. Brazilian or Dauphinean laws. The latter arise not only during crystal growth, but also as a result of internal structural rearrangements during thermal β-α polymorphic transitions accompanied by compression, as well as during mechanical deformations. In igneous and metamorphic rocks, quartz forms irregular isometric grains accreted with grains of other minerals; its crystals are often encrusted with voids and almonds in effusive rocks.
In sedimentary rocks - nodules, veins, secretions (geodes), brushes of small short-prismatic crystals on the walls of voids in limestones, etc. Also fragments of various shapes and sizes, pebbles, sand.
ORIGIN
As a mineral of magmatic origin, quartz is deposited from hot lava solutions. That is, the process is hydrothermal. The waters enriched with mineral impurities seep through cracks in the ground and cool down. During cooling, the precipitation, crystallization of quartz occurs, and rock crystal appears. Single crystals of quartz are rare. Usually, a bundle of hexagons of various sizes with pyramidal tops rises from one base. Crystals are often directed in different directions. The composition is beautiful and harmonious. Therefore, it is often not shared in jewelry. If the ensemble consists of small crystals, it is soldered into a ring, or the whole pendant.
It is found mainly in the cavities of hydrothermal veins; most of the industrial deposits and finds of large crystals are associated with crystal-bearing veins of the "Alpine type". It is also found in miarolite voids of pegmatite veins and contact-metamorphic deposits of various types. It is very common in sedimentary rocks, but does not form large crystals, but is found in the form of crystal brushes on the walls of cracks and in the form of geodes, mainly among limestones and in calcareous strata.
The deposits are numerous and varied. In Russia, large deposits are known in the Subpolar Urals and in the East. Siberia (Aldan Shield, Verkhoyansk Range, etc.). Defect-free single crystals of rock crystal for technical needs and the jewelry industry are grown in autoclaves.
APPLICATION
Rock crystal is used in radio engineering to obtain ultrasonic vibrations, to manufacture prisms, spectrographs, and lenses. Rock crystal is used for the manufacture of jewelry and decorative and applied products, colored crystals of rock crystal are used as semi-precious stones. Pure rock crystal crystals of considerable size are rare and therefore relatively expensive. An artificial material called "crystal" is made by adding lead oxide and barium to ordinary glass. In the trade, chandeliers, glasses, etc., made of artificial crystal, are often passed off as objects made of natural stone.
In jewelry, you can find not only earrings with rock crystal, but also lenses made of it. Ancient craftsmen used them to melt metal elements and fuse them in jewelry.
Granules of transparent quartz went to the production of windows, and to this day are used in the manufacture of ceramic tiles, porcelain stoneware.
Rock crystal - SiO 2
CLASSIFICATION
| Strunz (8th Edition) | 4 / D.01-10 |
| Nickel-Strunz (10th Edition) | 4.DA.05 |
| Dana (7th Edition) | 75.1.3.1 |
| Dana (8th Edition) | 75.1.3.1 |
| Hey's CIM Ref. | 7.8.1 |
Crystal production is a highly complex technology that requires strict adherence to all norms and specifications. Today, the following main types of crystal are distinguished:
- Rhinestone... It is natural quartz.
- Lead crystal... The famous glassmaker Georg Ravenscroft invented a method of making crystal using lead in 1676. Today, the world standard for the content of lead oxide in crystal products using this technology is 24%
- Barium crystal... Crystal production in this case uses barium instead of lead.
- Bohemian crystal... This technology uses potassium-calcium glass instead of lead and barium.
The process of making art glass products is complex. Its production begins with the preparation of the charge. Charge - a mixture of different materials, selected in accordance with the type of glass produced, which is subjected to careful processing. This is followed by the glass melting process. This is a very important operation in the production of crystal. The quality of finished products largely depends on it. Glass is brewed in special glass-making furnaces with a gradual increase in temperature in them from 700 ° to 1450 ° - 1480 ° C. After that, the mass is cooled. This is followed by the production or molding of products by various methods. There are several ways of molding art glass products: blow molding, pressing, press blowing and centrifugal casting.
Blowing can be mechanized, vacuum blown, hand blown in molds and free blowing. The first two methods are used most often when making inexpensive souvenirs. Hand blowing into molds using a glass blowing tube allows you to create products that characterize the skill of each artist. Free blowing, or gutting (sometimes called Guten's) technique, consists in the free forming of a product without a shape. The master, typing a sparkling ball of glass on the tip of the tube, quickly inflates this set into a ball, rotates the "jar" 1, periodically corrects the ball with wooden bars, throws the tube into one or the other hand, simultaneously rotating it incessantly. Ball 1 The molten glass put into a tube is also called "set" or "jar" takes the forms that the master conceived. The resulting object is removed from the tube and placed on a "pontius" (iron rod) in order to process the product: open the top or roll out the lower part to obtain the corresponding product. Products made with the Guten technique are distinguished by their uniqueness. No matter how hard the master tries to accurately execute the sample according to the artist's sketch, deviations are inevitable. Since each performer has “his own eye”, “his own hand” that rotates the tube with the set, and, finally, his own imagination, during the work he has his own ideas about the object being created. Distinctive features of blown products are small thickness of product walls, high transparency, and more complex various shapes.
Artistic glass products are classified according to their purpose, material, manufacturing method, size, and manufacturing enterprises.
By their intended purpose, glass products are subdivided into utilitarian, decorative and souvenirs. The first group includes: household items - vases for fruits, sweets, salad bowls, decanters, wine glasses, wine glasses, tea utensils, table sets, sets of various items; smoking accessories - ashtrays; toilet items - desktop powder boxes, spray guns. The group of decorative items includes: interior decoration items - flower vases, small sculptures, decorative compositions, panels; jewelry - cufflinks, beads, brooches, etc. The group of souvenirs includes: plaques, medals depicting historical monuments, miniature sculptures, ends.
According to the material, artistic glass products are distinguished from ordinary (soda-lime), crystal (with the addition of lead oxide) and sulphide-zinc glass.
By size, glass products are divided into large (flower vases with a height of more than 250 mm, decanters with a capacity of more than 500 mm3, crockery, salad bowls with a diameter of more than 150 mm, etc.), medium (glasses, flower vases up to 250 mm in height, wine glasses , sugar bowls with a diameter of up to 150 mm, plates and dishes with a diameter of up to 150 mm, etc.), small (saucers for jam, glasses, cups, stands for knives, salt shakers, etc.).
According to manufacturing enterprises, artistic glass products are distinguished: Leningrad, Gusev, Dyatkovo, Estonian, Ukrainian, etc.
An interesting feature of a crystal piece is that, having thinner walls, it is heavier than glass and has greater strength. And finally, crystal glassware is highly prized for the beautiful melodic ringing that is produced when two glasses touch.
Crystal products are made of white glass, to which silver or lead is added. Crystal glassware is distinguished by high transparency, play of light reflected in the edges, and ringing. The quality of glassware and decorative glassware must comply with the requirements of GOST 30407-96. According to GOST, in the general technical requirements, products that do not spoil the presentation are allowed:
Processed chips;
Sparsely located swill;
Rarely located "midge";
A crescent-shaped bubble at the junction of individual parts of the product and decorative elements;
Remelting the edge;
Traces of surface disturbance;
Traces from molds and scissors;
Traces of distillation and polishing;
Misconduct and lengthening of drawing lines;
Defects in decoration with preparations of precious and other metals, luster and silicate paints;
Torsion in mechanized products;
Thickening with one projection on the upper edge of the glasses made of soda-lime-silicate glass;
Waviness of the surface of the faces;
Deviation in the drawing from the reference sample caused by the need to eliminate defects;
Asymmetry of the junction of the vessel and the bottom, annular thickening or waviness at the junction of the vessel and legs, legs and bottom.
Marking
Product marking is applied to a paper label, which is glued directly to the product (the use of silicate glue is not allowed) or during production. Marking of consumer (group and (or) individual) containers, group paper packaging and shipping containers is applied to a paper label or stamp.
It is allowed not to apply marking on consumer packaging packed in transport.
The following information is indicated on the product labeling on the paper label:
mass fraction of lead oxide (only for lead crystal);
A label is placed on each product. In sets, the label will be placed on at least one item. It is allowed not to indicate the article in the marking of products packed in individual containers.
The marking in the process of development must contain the trademark or the name of the manufacturer.
The composition of a set or service is indicated on the consumer packaging or, and the largest product.
It is allowed, upon agreement with the consumer, not to mark the products or to apply to some of the products in a batch.
Products intended for export are labeled in accordance with the terms of the agreement or contract.
The following data are indicated in the marking of consumer (group and (or) individual) packaging and group packaging made of paper:
trademark and (or) name of the manufacturer;
product name;
the number of products in a packaging unit (for group packaging);
controller and packer number;
designation of this standard.
For certified products, the mark of conformity or the number of the certificate of conformity is affixed in the product labeling on the paper label and (or) in the container and packaging labeling, as well as in the shipping documentation.
Transport marking - in accordance with GOST 14192 with the application of a manipulation sign “Fragile - Caution”.
It is allowed to apply an image of a manipulation mark on a label intended for marking containers.
Package. Products are packed in consumer and shipping containers.
Specific types of containers and packaging that ensure the safety of products during transportation, the gross weight is indicated in the contracts for the supply of products between the manufacturer and the consumer.
Colored crystal, as well as crystal products dyed according to special technologies, are very popular today. For the production of colored crystal, special additives are used. The red color is obtained through the addition of cadmium or a compound of gold. Silicon gives the crystal a pink tint. Blue crystal products owe their color to cobalt. Copper oxide and manganese oxides make crystal green and purple, respectively. Colored crystal is produced by leading Russian factories, but the most famous in the world is crystal of exquisite pearl gray, amethyst and blue shades, produced in the royal crystal workshops in the city of Sèvres, France.
Crystal products are also subjected to additional chemical treatment to improve their appearance. A very common procedure, for example, is etching with hydrofluoric acid. First, a special acid-resistant resin is applied to a crystal product on tracing paper, after which the product is dipped into an acid solution. Surfaces not protected by resin become dull and slightly uneven. This gives the surface of the crystal a frosting effect.
An important stage in the crystal making process is grinding. To strengthen the crystal, which is a slightly softer material than ordinary glass, grinding with special artificial diamond wheels is used. Grinding is especially important when processing crystal products made using a unique crystallization technology. With strict adherence to all technological requirements, faceted crystal sparkles with all the colors of the rainbow. Often this method is used to make crystal chandeliers, which are simply sprinkled with crystal "splashes".
Russian crystal is world famous not only for the most beautiful forms of crystal products created by the hands of domestic craftsmen. The technology of diamond cutting "Russian stone" is today one of the most complex in the world and gives an amazing result, despite the fact that it was invented in the 19th century.
Crystal by its nature is an unusually soft material; therefore, crystal products are usually diamond cut during production. The technology implies processing with rotating circles of artificial diamond, after which it is polished with acids. This gives the surrounding crystal vases, wine glasses and other crystal glassware hardness and makes the play of all colors of the rainbow in its facets even more bewitching. Despite the fact that the development of the glass industry does not stand still, and today much more practical and cheaper materials are offered than crystal, it will remain popular for a long time at various receptions and social events. Crystal products amaze, first of all, with their natural, natural transparency, which cannot be imitated with the help of even the most modern chemistry. The technologies for the production and processing of crystal are constantly being improved, using the advanced achievements of the science of glass making. Despite the growing competition and the emergence of more and more alternatives, this allows crystal products to remain in demand all over the world.
The quality of the crystal and the severity of all of the above characteristics depend on the percentage of lead oxide. In modern crystal production, along with this compound, barium and zinc oxides are also used. The state standard adopted in Russia (GOST 24315-80) assumes the following classification of manufactured products: if the content of lead, barium or zinc is at least 10%, the product is crystal glass, low-lead crystal contains 18-24% lead oxide, expensive lead crystal - 24-30%, elite high-lead - more than 30%. In Europe, the following classification is adopted: Crystalline (crystalline) - 1-15% lead oxide, Crystal (crystal) - 16-23%, Full Lead Crystal (lead crystal) - 24-30%.
Crystal differs from glass in its special transparency, surface brilliance.
Crystal glassware, as a rule, it is used for special occasions - receptions, banquets.
Crystal products are made of white glass, into which lead oxides are added during melting (that is, this is optical glass "heavy flint" with a high refractive index).
Due to the high content of soluble lead compounds it is unacceptable to leave food and drinks in crystal dishes for a long time, especially containing alcohol. For the same reason, you cannot wash crystal dishes with hot water - lead oxides are partially dissolved, and the surface of the product becomes unclear and dull.
Crystal glassware is distinguished by high transparency, play of light reflected in the edges, and ringing. The quality of the crystal is characterized by its decorative design - diamond facets. A simple diamond pattern - four diamond facets, a complex one with a fine mesh of facets.
When setting the table, glass or crystal dishes are used in the following assortment: glasses, glasses, wine glasses, jugs with lids, bowls on a leg, bowls in the form of a saucer compotnice in the form of saucers with handles, rosettes, salad bowls, spice cutters, vases for fruits, vases for cut flowers, a stand for cut flowers with holes of an odd number , vases for jam without a leg, vases for cookies and chocolates on a leg, a vase-stand for cakes or pastries on a medium leg, a vase for champagne on a leg, an oval-shaped boat vase for fruits and fresh vegetables, bottles with a ground stopper - for serving vinegar, olive oil or sunflower oil; devices for spices - salt, pepper, mustard with metal lids; decanters with corks for vodka, wine and cognac
During the Soviet era, crystal was considered a sign of wealth. It is difficult to imagine a family where the shelves of a sideboard or a classic wall were not decorated with crystal vases, glasses, and bowls. Crystal products were served only on major holidays. This is due to the high value of the crystal and its beautiful appearance. In the Middle Ages, crystal goblets and bowls were the property of the nobility, now crystal has not lost its relevance. Beautiful dishes and their crystal jewelry are in great demand to this day, but it is not so easy to take care of such products. It takes a lot of care and knowledge of little tricks.
To give crystal glassware a brilliant shine, you need to moisten a soft cloth with alcohol and wipe the dishes. When the alcohol dries, there will be no smell, and each piece will sparkle no worse than precious stones.
Crystal is cleaned in several stages. First, wipe with coarse salt, then wash in soapy water. Rinse the crystal in warm water with the addition of vinegar - this will give it a shine. Alternatively, you can use blueprint. A small amount of blue should be diluted in warm water, rinsed with crystal products and wiped dry with a soft wool or flannel cloth.
Crystal does not tolerate soda, so you need to clean it either with special products or with soapy water. If the crystal items have gilding or a pattern, then wash them without soap in warm water, rinse them in a solution of blue or vinegar, then rub them until they shine with a linen cloth.
If the crystal glassware is not too dirty, it can be washed with a regular dishwashing detergent that does not contain large granules and rubbed with a soft cloth. This method is especially good for cleaning crystal chandeliers and sconces. If you want to give them a shine, then the alcohol can be sprayed with a spray bottle.
It is worth remembering that crystal glassware is quite fragile, it can crack or burst from sudden changes in temperature. Therefore, the crystal should not be dipped from cold water into hot water and vice versa. If you need to put something very hot in a crystal dish, then it is placed on a wooden stand. On metal supports, the crystal will burst in the same way.
Crystal glasses are kept separately, but not in each other. Otherwise, they can get stuck in each other's necks and crack. When you start getting them. If the trouble does happen, then the upper glass should be filled with cool water, and the lower one with warm water, this will help them to separate.
Please be aware that crystal glassware is not suitable for mechanical cleaning, therefore it cannot be washed in the dishwasher. You cannot put it in an oven or microwave oven either. Over the years, the crystal can become cloudy, especially from frequent use, so preventive care and rubbing with vinegar or blue should be carried out at least once a month.
Despite the abundance of various crystal products in stores, you can often find a fake. If you are not sure if the real crystal is offered to you. It is very easy to check this. Firstly, real crystal is much more expensive than glass products. Secondly, when crystal products touch, a melodic ringing is heard, which also differs from the ringing of glass products.
Crystal glassware or jewelry is a traditional way to highlight the specialness of a moment that brings friends and family together at the same table. It will never go out of style and will always be valuable. Crystal products are often decorated with gilding or silver, which makes them even more beautiful. With proper care, both crystal glassware and home furnishings can last for decades.