Sometimes passing by lighting or a home decoration store you cannot resist the desire to enter inside and look at the crystal chandelier or a wine glass that caught your attention. Maybe you can't explain to yourself what made you do so, but the explanation is simple ? you were attracted by the magic glitter of crystal.
However, we are often unaware who, how and where made that crystal, while this useful information could help us to choose between hundreds of types of this wonderful material.
Crystal (from Greek ?krystallos?) is a special type of glass of a high degree of brilliance and optical purity. The brilliance of cut crystal comes from the refraction of light passing through a prism. We can spot similar effect in rainbow formation.
The most widely spread types of crystal are:
-Rock crystal ? natural crystal mined from the earth, cannot be manufactured therefore is the most expensive one
-Bohemian crystal ? lead-free crystal
-Lead crystal ? considered the finest crystal in the world. The most famous manufacturer of this type of crystal is Swarovski AG in the Austrian Alps. Its brand crystal ?STRASS? is characterized not only by its clear and brilliant structure but also by razor-sharp cutting of facets that makes it look like a real diamond. Lead content is in excess of 30%.
In Europe there exist special European standards as for the chemical composition of crystal. When buying a European made crystal item one can read different words on the package that point to the type of crystal used in it. If you see ?Crystalline? that means there is a-15% of lead oxides in it, the word ?Crystall? means the item is more expensive and has 16-23% of lead in it, and finally when you see label ?Full Lead Crystal? this means you became the owner of the best quality crystal that has 24-30% of lead.
The next criterion in defining the quality of crystal is its perfect inner structure without bubbles, inserts, cracks etc. Crystal means clear, pure, and transparent.
You can also try to check the quality of crystal by slightly hitting it using a silver spoon or knife (or even a silver ring). When you hear a delicate special jingle you can be sure the crystal is of good quality.
In a complete silence the melody performed by crystal pendants in your chandelier creates a very romantic atmosphere, and a feeling of fairytale. Maybe that's why ancient Chinese school of living Feng-Shui always suggests hanging a crystal chandelier or even just a crystal ball in your house ? to let the good energy to concentrate around you.