Glass, Crystal

Lead crystal, (also called crystal), is lead glass that has been hand or machine cut with facets. Lead oxide added to the molten glass gives lead crystal a much higher index of refraction than normal glass, and consequently much greater "sparkle". more...

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The presence of lead also makes the glass softer and easier to cut. Crystal can consist of up to 33% lead, at which point it has the most sparkle. The higher lead content also makes it much more difficult to form crystal during blowing.

Englishman George Ravenscroft discovered crystal in 1676.

Makers of lead crystal objects include Baccarat in France, Royal Leerdam Crystal of the Netherlands, Steuben Glass in the United States, Waterford Crystal in Ireland, and Swarovski in Austria.

Lead crystal and food safety

Significant amounts of lead can migrate from lead crystal containers into beverages stored in them. Lead crystal typically contains 24-32 percent lead oxide. In a study performed at North Carolina State University, the amount of lead migration was measured for port wine stored in lead crystal decanters. After two days, lead levels were 89 micrograms. After four months, lead levels were between 2,000 and 5,000 micrograms. White wine doubled its lead content within an hour of storage and tripled it within four hours. Some brandy stored in lead crystal for over five years had lead levels around 20,000 micrograms To put this into perspective, EPA's lead standard for drinking water is 50 micrograms per liter. Citrus juices and infant formula leach lead from crystal just as effectively as alcoholic beverages. Several companies do make lead crystal baby bottles and it is suspected they may present a health danger to infants.

Read more at Wikipedia.org