Where do cut glass figures come from?
cut glass figures
Crystal and glass figurines have been made through the ages. Famous producers of crystal figurines are, for example, Lalique, Baccarat, Daum and Cristallerie d’Argues. They are beautiful sculptures made of glass or crystal and represent people, animals, flowers, etc.
But these are not the kind of glass figurines we are talking about here. Cut glass figurines are made from full cut faceted lead crystal stones. Due to the use of high lead content in the glass, light is reflected, actually diffracted, and this results in a beautiful color palette.
Basically, these figures are made up of cut glass chandelier pendants and cut glass beads, glued together in such a way as to represent, for example, an animal or a flower. But that was basically it. Modern cut glass figurines are made from specially designed cut glass components.
history of glass cutting
Bohemia was the area where most of the glass and crystal cutting was concentrated in the 19th century. They produced most of the crystal pendants for chandeliers and also cut glass beads and pendants for the jewelry and fashion industry.
Cutting and polishing glass and crystal stones was tedious work and required a lot of skills in those days.
The son of one of the best Bohemian glass cutters in the mid-19th century, he was a young man named Daniel Swarovski.
Following a visit to an exhibition in Vienna in 1883, he became obsessed with the possibilities of electricity. He wanted to use electricity to power the tedious process of cutting glass. He did it after nine years of experimentation! and he was able to patent the first electrically powered, semi-automatic glass and crystal cutting machine.
This was such a revolutionary invention that it changed the glass cutting industry forever. His machine could cut glass and crystal much more accurately and at a much higher speed than the manual cutting method.
The perfection of glass cutting
After the invention of electrically powered cutting technology, Daniel Swarovski did not stop inventing. He started a factory in which he constantly improved the cut, but also mastered the manufacture of flawless high-lead crystal.
His jewelery stones made him the number one supplier to the fashion industry in Paris. All the famous couturiers used their cut crystal stones and Swarovski became an established brand.
The Swarovski company never stopped developing new ways to make better crystals and new ways to cut them better. It goes without saying that today they are still the number 1 glass cutting company in the world.
The first cut glass figure
Not so long ago, precisely in 1976, that the first commercial cut crystal figure was made and, again, that was made by the Swarovski company.
In 1976 the Winter Olympics were held in Innsbruck, Austria, not far from the Swarovski factories (Wattens, Austria). Swarovski designer Max Schreck made a mouse out of cut crystal stones and it became a bestseller during games immediately after its release.
The reason it took so long for the first cut glass figure to see the light of day is because, until the early 1970s, there was no glue that could hold the stones together. The glue is a solution of an acrylate that hardens to a transparent acrylic substance under ultraviolet radiation. That kind of chemistry only developed after World War II.
The smaller version of the original mouse is still available and is sold under the name “replica mouse”. The replica mouse is no longer alone. Swarovski’s cut crystal figurine collection continues to grow and the beautiful cut crystal figurines depict themes from the world of flora and fauna, childhood memories, Christmas themes and more.
famous brands of cut glass figures
The most famous brand is undoubtedly Swarovski. There is a whole army of collectors of some 325,000 people who are members of the Swarovski Crystal Society. Being a member of the world’s largest collectors’ society makes it possible to buy limited editions. Limited editions are special models that are produced only in limited quantities.
Many companies have started making cut crystal figurines after Swarovski started their collection. And many of them have stopped after a while.
Making cut glass figurines is not just gluing together some stones. The companies that survived the last four decades and are still making cut glass figurines are the companies that put a lot of thought into design and quality.
Precious from the Czech Republic is one such company. They have a large collection of beautifully designed figurines and they also use the finest crystal for it. After all, Preciosa is the number 2 glass cutting company in the world and they have a name to uphold.
Crystal World is another top brand. This company, with a team of Japanese designers, has been making beautiful pieces since it was founded by Rudy (Ryuyu) Nakai, in 1983, in the United States.
In Egypt it is the Asfour company. Asfour is like Swarovski and Preciosa also a giant crystal cutting company. Asfour also manufactures high quality crystal and designs beautiful crystal figures.
You will find other producers of glass figurines in other countries, but they are usually not as specialized as the four companies above. China and Turkey have quite a few producers of glass figurines. Some of those companies have good models but for most of them crystal figurines are not their core business and they usually offer a range of other crystal products alongside the figurines.
Cut glass figures have a magical attraction for many people. The clarity of the material, the breakup of light in many colors and the timeless designs make people want to surround themselves with them.
What once started as a single crystal mouse in Austria in 1976 is now collected by hundreds of thousands of people all over the world and brings joy to many every day. We can only thank the innovative and world famous crystal cutting company Swarovski for inventing the cut crystal figurines that bring that special touch to many people’s lives.