| To ensure control over product quality and consistency Cumbria Crystal has it’s own recipe for raw material or “batch”. Our crystal has at least a 30% lead content making it “full lead crystal”, the best available. Other grades include “lead crystal” which has a lead content of 24% and “crystal” which has a lead content of 17% or over. Many household names now produce 24% lead content crystal because it is easier to use.
Lead is the vital ingredient that changes glass into crystal. The higher the lead content, the higher the refractive index of the product and the refractive index is the measure of the way light travels through an object. The more lead, the higher the refractive index and the more brilliant the crystal. Lead also makes glass softer which makes it ideal for cutting or engraving with cutting further enhancing the brilliant light refracting properties of crystal. Finally lead makes glass heavier and because our crystal is full lead it has that reassuringly weighty and luxurious feel in the hand.
Colour is important in crystal, which should not have any greyness or tinges of blue, green, yellow or purple. These are evidence of impurities in the crystal. Our recipe results in an exceptional colour, which is really the clarity and purity of light itself.
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Crystal making