How to tell the difference between Bohemia crystal and its imitators
Added 22.4.2021 14:11.05
Bohemia crystal has an excellent reputation all over the world. The price of this success and popularity is the emergence of imitators, trying to pass themselves off as genuine crystal. The poor properties of these imitations mean they do not come even close to original crystal, and their users often end up disappointed. Let’s take a look at how we can easily identify the difference between Bohemia crystal and its imitators.
Quality has its price
Is the salesman tempting you with a suspiciously low price for a supposedly crystal product? This should start the alarm bells ringing. It may be an imitation. Bohemia crystal is renown for its high quality material and the precision of its manufacturing. Difficult, complex procedures and the very latest technologies are used during production. For example, when the crystal is cut. These factors are naturally reflected in the price of crystal products.
A suspiciously low price can be one of the warning signs alerting you to an imitation. If you come across a salesman with products a third cheaper than usual, or sometimes even half the price of the competition, it most likely means that there is something wrong.
Typical shine or weight can give you a hint
There are some basic guidelines on how to distinguish Bohemia crystal from its imitators. A high shine and brilliance is typical for the crystal. A unique refraction of light that multiplies the radiance from a lightbulb. Common glass or acrylic plastic – the materials most commonly used in imitations – do not have these properties or the characteristic light refraction.
The higher shine and refraction of light is due to the presence of lead monoxide. It enables light to refract in such a way that you can see all the colors of the rainbow, and it reflects the whole spectrum. Lead monoxide adds weight to the glass – crystal imitators can be up to half as heavy as an original.
An imitation will have lower durability. Mainly plastic imitators degrade rapidly, the plastic becomes grey. Owners of acrylic plastic chandeliers could certainly tell you some stories. Imitations of crystal are often made in China, or other countries with low factory costs.
Legislation takes into account the proportion of lead monoxide
Legislation also recognizes the difference between crystal and its imitators. These statutory regulations vary from country to country. EU legislation states that a glass product must have an amount of lead monoxide greater than 10 % in order to label the product as "crystal". If this ratio is greater than 30%, it is then labeled as "highly lead crystal". However, in the United States, only 1% lead monoxide is sufficient for glass to qualify as crystal. The term "lead crystal" is generally used for glass products with more than 24% lead monoxide.