CUT VASES

Click on images or names below to view product details and larger images.

CUT VASES

Cut vases, every cut made meticulously by hand, is the zenith of the crystal maker's art. Our selections are not only hand cut, but cased, which means that crystal of one color is laid within another color so that, when cut, the colors are revealed.

Cut vases are something one has to watch being made to appreciate the skills involved. Hand held against the cutting wheel, every cut is made from thecutter's memory of the pattern. Larger pieces are balanced on the cutter's head to carry the weight while each cut is made in a craft that relies on apprenticeship, just as it has for centuries. A miscut, a pattern that doesn't close properly and the piece is smashed, relegated to the trash-glass heap behind the cutting rooms.

Thus, every piece that survives is perfect. Give a gift of perfection, an heirloom to be handed down through generations.

We are proud to bring to the world these wonderful examples of what can be done with molten glass, worked, stretched, turned and drawn into stunning gift glass---whether the gift is for a lover, dear friend or merely yourself. Gaze through it and wonder how it's done.

Every piece in our collection is made entirely by hand, by craftsmen who trace their crystal working ancestry back for centuries, often in the same villages where they now live and work. We see them working the glass, young and old in leather aprons or shorts and running shoes, several generations side by side are reflected in the glare of the kiln.

Czech crystal, the presentation gift of kings for more than six centuries will remain in your family as a valued heirloom. This enduring tradition of craftsmanship assures you've made the right choice, sets you apart from the ordinary and shows you know your way around the world of fine craftsmanship.

All our crystal comes directly from workshops in the Czech Republic. Shipped to you by air from Prague, allowing us to sell premium quality crystal at surprisingly affordable prices.

At the end of 17th and the beginning of the 18th century, the major reputation and world recognition of Czech glass was achieved. There was strong development within specialized Czech production, including the decorating of glass by painting, engraving and cutting. Czech glass of these times put to shame the previously favorite Venetian glass.

By the end of 18th and beginning of the 19th centuries, English, Irish and French lead crystal began to compete with Czech glass. Lead crystal was glass with a high content of lead and very suitable for cutting, as it was softer, heavier and attained an extremely high luster.

Czech glassmaking held its dominance through the early 20th century and until the Nazi invasion of 1938, when world markets disappeared in the smoke and ruin of World War Two. Shortly after the end of that war, Czechoslovakia slid silently behind the Iron Curtain, not to be heard from again until the Velvet Revolution of 1989 and the subsequent separation from Slovakia.