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karinl_gw

Uncollecting: What to do with old leaded crystal

karinl
14 years ago

There seems to be a surfeit of leaded crystal out there. I have some glasses and don't know what to do with them.

Can someone help me to make a decision about what to do with the box of crystal glasses sitting by my front door?

I can't bring myself to use them anymore because of the lead content (though we do still seem to have our faculties).

Giving them away seems unethical in case someone else uses them. Throwing them away seems insane. Keeping them is a bit burdensome, even for a keeper like me, since crystal isn't really our taste and I'm not swimming in space, and selling them unlikely as they are a bit cloudy, SOMEONE having put them in the dishwasher, plus the ethics thing. Is anyone doing anything with leaded crystal besides using it to collect dust? I can't even think of a way to make garden ornaments out of them!

I have some crystal bowls and vases and can be rational about them, but the glasses have me stumped. Can the leaded glass even be recycled? If so, I suppose I could just put them in the blue box.

KarinL

Comments (43)

  • pris
    14 years ago

    Everything I've read indicates you can use your lead crystal stemware as the amount of lead that could possibly leach into your beverage would not exceed the allowable amount. You just can't store liquids in lead crystal containers, such as alcoholic beverages or jams and jellies. You can still use them during parties or dinners but any leftover amounts need to be returned to their original containers when the party or meal is over.

    Regardless, it's a shame not to enjoy such beautiful and sometimes heirloom items. If you still want to get rid of what you have then sell it, but you might want to give the new owner written instructions on what to do or not do with it.

  • Ideefixe
    14 years ago

    Lead crystal glasses aren't going to poison you, honest. And the cloudiness will probably go away if you wash them with Glisten or Tang, unless they're completely etched.

    Craigslist?

  • karinl
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Well thanks for the reassurances about using them. My husband wants to use the water glasses at least, and I have been concerned. There is no decanter involved, so certainly no storage of beverages. The water glasses are pretty but the wine glasses, small and large, are square-bottomed, not such a nice shape that I'm that keen to keep them, but I'll have another look. I'm pretty sure they are leaded, though not the best stuff; it was a department store purchase nearly 30 years ago (these were wedding gifts - and we're still on the same marriage).

    I hadn't heard of ways to address the cloudiness either, so thanks for helping to restore my equilibrium all around!

    KarinL

  • lindac
    14 years ago

    Do they ring like a bell when flicked with a fingernail?
    if not, they are not lead crystal..
    By the way..."leaded glass" refers to glass that is cut into sections and the sections joined with lead cames....like stained glass. The glass that contains lead is called lead glass, or flint glass.
    Linda C

  • Fori
    14 years ago

    If you don't like some of them, donate them to a charity that does resale and don't worry. Use the ones you like, and still don't worry. It is awfully nice that you're thinking about the recipients, but you may put your conscience at ease. =)

    You might not be able to fix the cloudy ones...but maybe!

  • karinl
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Gee, I never noticed before that I can make them ring like a bell :-) Point taken about the wording, Linda. And thanks Fori, that does pretty much capture what I needed to hear.

    Since it's never really complete without a picture, here are some. There is some cloudiness on this water glass, though this isn't the worst one.

    KarinL

  • Fori
    14 years ago

    Those do have a retro and beefy profile! Probably not what I'd pick out either, but there's a lot to be said for something sturdy when guests get tipsy!

    They do not look at all cheap. Don't trash those things!

  • lindac
    14 years ago

    They are cut...most certainly lead crystal...likely Irish....and perhaps Waterford!
    You really have no idea what you have!!
    They are lovely....and likely would cost about $45 to $60 a stem to buy today.
    AND they were a wedding gift!
    Don't get rid of them unless you get a very good price.
    Have you looked for a mark on the bottom? Do you know what the Waterford mark looks like?...Sometimes hard to see.
    If you are dumping them, send them to me...I will pay shipping and guarantee not to serve any babies orange juice in them!!
    Linda c

  • karinl
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Well Linda, I think you've talked them back into my china cabinet... now if only I had a proper china cabinet :-) I find it difficult to believe they are Waterford, since their shape is just not as pleasing as most Waterford I can find in pictures which is notable for its grace of form. Of course, it was the 80s (1982), when design in almost all fields had hit a significant low point! I actually think I retain some memory of them being Polish, and I can't for the life of me find a mark on them.

    But I do find it hard to part with them in part because I have a lot of affection for the aunt who gave them to me.

    You've certainly all helped to talk me out of being afraid of them - and I went web searching on the topic and encountered the point, which rather hit home, that if one lives in an old house with lead paint, the crystal is pretty benign in comparison. So perhaps I will dare to use them to toast the new year...

    On which note I'll wish you all a happy slide (as we say in German) into 2010! Thanks for all the help with this.

    KarinL

  • lindac
    14 years ago

    I think the form is lovely. You may prefer the balloon shape but that squared botton is very nice ands till offered in several patterns.
    The glass without a stem is for drinks...cocktails like a CC and soda or Scotch and water. The taller stemmed goblet is the water glass and the smaller the wine of course. I'll bet they set a beautiful table.
    Look on the bottom in a good light. Look for an almost invisible etched mark of some sort.
    They weren't cheap when new....even if they are Polish and not Irish. Enjoy them!
    Linda c

  • Fori
    14 years ago

    I have some Waterford tumblers from that era, maybe a few from the 70s (it was one of those things where my mom would buy my grandmother a glass each year for Christmas so they span a few years). Sure, you don't get a great variation in shapes on tumblers, but your glasses would look just fine with them!

    My father-in-law drinks quite a bit and won't drink wine from a wine glass because he's afraid he'll break it. I bet he'd drink from your glasses if you didn't tell him they were GOOD glasses. And you know a loose elbow won't knock them over which can be nice on a busy holiday table.

    What about using them for desserts (don't kill me Linda! hehe). I could see a very nice parfait or mousse kind of thing in the larger goblet. I'd be tempted to give the guests plastic spoons, but at least you'd be using them.

    Mine are in a box.

    Happy New Year, and enjoy your glasses. They'll work their way into your heart with their quirky boxiness and you'll be wondering why you ever used those flimsy glasses.

  • Ideefixe
    14 years ago

    I like those--the sort of pinwheel or thistle cutting is nice. I used mine for mousse just this Christmas. Take a gander around Replacements, and see if you can find the maker.

  • igloochic
    14 years ago

    Darn I was hoping I would be able to talk you into sending them to me LOL We use lead crystal all the time (we don't suck on it and don't store anything long term).

    I love finding stuff like that at the goodwill that someone just "got rid of". I picked up two gorgeous bowls just last week for 4.99 total :)

  • DLM2000-GW
    14 years ago

    Lindac is an enabler. I'm just sayin'...... ;-)

  • sheesh
    14 years ago

    For goodness sakes, I have five tumblers that look just like yours! I also have a matchingwater pitcher, but no wine glasses. Mine were a wedding gift to my in-laws in 1935.

    No identifying marks that I can see on mine. They have been well-used over the years, and we still use them very often.

    This is the second time I've had something similar to the item originally posted! Small world.

    Sherry

  • karinl
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Enabling, shopping, selling, or what have you... sometimes it's best not to enquire too deeply into what motivates responders to be in forums, including me when I'm on the other side of a question :-)

    Given that a lot of people do post links for stuff they sell and get away without being called on it (CPAP thread and make-up organizer thread on the organizing forum come to mind), Dean's is one of the less annoying sell jobs I've seen around the forums because he's also made an effort to provide a relatively informed opinion specific to the thread(s). And on some other forums, like landscaping and decorating, professionals in those fields regularly make great contributions to discussions and although they refrain from direct selling, they may still benefit from that - many people either know who they are or can find out through email if they need to.

    In this case I do appreciate the addition of the word "bohemian" as that may have been what I was groping for in my memory when I came up with Polish, and it actually makes sense that that is what my aunt would preferentially buy when shopping for quality crystal, as she grew up in Germany. Perhaps the origin of Sherrmann's glasses would help, if s/he knows?

    So much as I hate to deprive Goodwill/Value Village shoppers, I'm really quite happy to have them talked back into my house for sentimental reasons. I'm happy to feel OK about actually using them, and you've all also allowed me to see them with a new appreciation. Besides being able to see them through the eyes of aficionados and to connect to the long tradition of crystal (I'm usually more of a hand-made pottery girl), it's true that solid, stable-looking glassware has its advantages... and if I get tired of them again, I've learned that I can enjoy the sound!

    Now I'll have to look into finding something to alleviate the cloudiness of the (now I know what to call them) cocktail glasses.

    Thank you again all around.

    KarinL

  • lindac
    14 years ago

    If the glass is actually etched, there is nothing you can do short of having them polished.
    But if it's mineral deposits something like Glass Magic ay remove the clouding.
    But whatever, when filled with ice or a liquid, the clouding is unoticable.
    Also know that there is lots of "wheel cut lead crystal" out there that is partially molded and only cut on parts of the design. Lots of it was made in Czechoslovakia and Bohemian regions and paper labeled with the country of origin and the 24% Pb label.
    Only your fingers will tell if your glasses are fully cut or the latter.
    And I take issue with the statement that hand cutting is too time consuming to be done by Waterford or any other "mass produced glassware".

  • wilson1
    14 years ago

    Just to add my two cents worth: I was in a consignment shop today and saw the almost-identical glasses at $10 a stem. I thought of you when I saw them!

  • ctp101206
    6 years ago

    Just ran across this post. Thanks Linda, for all of your enlightening comments. If these glasses were gift from you German grandmother (bless her heart), you probably have the Nachtmann, fine Bavarian crystal. On the bottom of each stem you will see the name engraved. But, there are many wanna-be out there. Check the bottom of the glass stem. If they are Nachtmann, $90 per stem. I own sets, and the color ones. I believe your style glass is IMPERIAL very, very good quality glass.

  • User
    6 years ago

    You can send your pics to Replacements and they can identify almost anything. Then you will know they value of them.

  • lindac92
    6 years ago

    Replacements does not give a realistic "value". They offer a very low buying price and a high selling price. But if you know the name you can look on-line to see what those glasses have sold for recently other places. The actual price that people have paid for an item is the only real way to tell value.

  • Gina DeStefano
    5 years ago

    First off, leaded crystal glass DOES leach harmful levels of lead into the liquid contained. The more acidic the more leaching. One study showed liquid contained in crystal glass for 24hrs had levels high enough to poison a child. There is a lot of research on this. Leaded crystal can be 40% lead. Remember, there is NO safe amount of lead for the body. Stick with plain new glass.

  • Fori
    5 years ago

    If you leave your wine in a glass for 24 hrs, won't there be flies in it anyway?

  • lindac92
    5 years ago

    Other studies show that not enough lead in a glass that served a drink at a meal to worry about....you get more lead than that in vegetables you eat.
    I breathed leaded gas fumes, drank water from lead water pipes ( although we were careful to let it run before drinking or using for coffee or tea) and I still have a brain.
    But I don't store wine of brandy or orange juice in a lead crystal pitcher.

  • deliatetelman
    5 years ago

    There is a low amount of "acceptable" lead. This is based on averages. If you have problems with your methylation cycle, like MTHFR or COMT SNPs, you might not be able to naturally chelate lead like the average person. Small amounts of lead might be more poisonous to you than to the average person. There is nothing wrong with being cautious. Heavy metals have been found in high concentrations in post mortem examinations of autistic people's brains.

  • toxcrusadr
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    >>One study showed liquid contained in crystal glass for 24hrs had levels high enough to poison a child.

    This seems to be an unrealistic exposure scenario.

    Also adults are less susceptible compared to children - BUT pregnant women expose the fetus so watch out for that. But you shouldn't be drinking wine anyway if you are with child.

    @ delia I hope and assume that anyone with those alphabet soup conditions will know what you're talking about. As a reasonably medically savvy layperson and env. chemist, I have no idea myself. :-D

  • linnea56 (zone 5b Chicago)
    5 years ago

    Have you found a way to remove the cloudiness yet? I had a set of glasses that were clouded by the dishwasher. I thought they were etched. Turned out it was just a film, and I could remove it by soaking in vinegar. I've since removed film from thrift store purchases. Not sure if that is a good idea for lead glass, just throwing it out there.

  • User
    5 years ago

    The solution I remember remove cloudiness on crystal was ammonia. The cloudiness can be from oils from sitting in a cabinet and ammonia is a great grease cutter.

  • toxcrusadr
    5 years ago

    There are at two types of films described in the above two posts, and those may not be all.

    Oils, yes, ammonia or any detergent should remove.

    Dishwasher film, I always assumed was etching as well but there may be different types. If it can be removed by vinegar it sounds like hard water minerals. Vinegar works on carbonates but if you have sulfates as well, acid will not remove them. A better product would be one of the lime removers, Lime Away, CLR, etc. I've used these with great success on 'water spots' on glasses. Damped a cloth with the stuff and wipe the glass, then rinse. I don't get wholesale filming of the glass so I can't speak to that.

  • Fori
    5 years ago

    I know the above is borderline spam, but wine glasses that bear a reminder of what organs are affected by excessive alcohol consumption are kind of brilliant.

  • tsugajunkie z5 SE WI ♱
    5 years ago

    Dang, Fori, their post was deleted. Just as I was IDing various organs.

    tj

  • Fori
    5 years ago

    Awww. I didn't report it because it was almost on topic and only slightly too late. :(

  • Nerissa
    2 years ago

    No, it is not recommended that you drink out of lead crystal pieces.

    The greatest risk of drinking from lead crystal is the consumption of any lead that may leach into your beverage. Similar to the debate on copper cups, many people argue that the amount of lead that makes its way into a drink depends on the amount of time that the liquid has spent inside the vessel. While it’s true that the lead content in a liquid can increase over time, studies have shown that no amount of lead is safe for consumption.

    Lead has been linked with blood disorders and can have a negative impact on the human nervous system. It is especially dangerous for children because it can cause permanent brain damage. So, it makes sense that lead is no longer used for many of the products it once was and that everyday use of lead crystal has fallen out of favor.

  • lindac92
    2 years ago

    Soooo...? All those of us who drink something daily from a lead crystal glass, and who grew up breathing fumes from leaded gasoline, and lived with waterpipes with lead solder, and helped Daddy paint the fence with white lead paint wont have a brain? Even well into our eightys? That what you are saying? And all the French chefs who beat their eggs in copper are slowly poisoning you? And how about the copper pipes that I swapped out for the lead soldered?

    Do you have grass? Do you have dandelions? How about your neighbor? do birds hop on your grass and eig for worms or have you used grub=X? How about al,l the ethyl alcohol fumes from hand sanitizer? Do you ever eat out? Eat hot dogs? boxed cereal? How about fruits and veggies from the supermarket?

    Do you worry about those things?

    I do.....but I don't worry about a daily drink from a waterford glass......people have been using glass cleared with a lead salt for hundreds of years.


  • toxcrusadr
    2 years ago
    last modified: 2 years ago

    I think you're putting words in the mouth of this thread, lindac92. The fact that no amount of lead is particularly safe (although there is a 'safe' level established for drinking water, because there has to be) to consume, does not mean that everyone who was exposed to lead in earlier times 'has no brain.'

    Lead exposure does statistically increase the chance of negative health effects. It's one of the most well-documented toxins in terms of its measured effect on humans, because so many people were (and are) exposed to it.

    As for me, I still use my leaded glasses on occasion. I'm in my 50s and have very low exposure otherwise. I would not use leaded glass for children, and do not use it on a daily basis in any case. I wouldn't put wine in a crystal decanter and let it sit and drink it the next day or the day after that. I would not serve a child orange juice in a crystal glass (who does that anyway?). I think this is a sensible approach. YMMV.

  • HU-295551046
    2 years ago

    You CANNOT get lead poisoning from lead crystal cut glass!!!!

  • hippiegypsywitch
    2 years ago


    I was wondering if anyone here could tell me more about this beautiful piece of cut lead crystal? I could not find any markings on it.. thank you!

  • colleenoz
    2 years ago

    @HU-295551046, Actually, you can, if the drink is acidic enough to leach lead out of the crystal, and the drink is kept in the lead crystal long enough.

  • toxcrusadr
    2 years ago

    You'd have to do that over and over, like always keeping your orange juice or wine in a lead crystal decanter for days and then replacing it with fresh in the same container. A single exposure won't be enough to really give you a toxic burden of it unless the level is extremely high. Drinking water standards are based on drinking a certain volume at that level every single day for a lifetime (well, for lead it's not a lifetime as it affects children, but for most chemicals).


    In any case I would not leave anything acidic in lead crystal for more than a few hours. But who would do that anyway?

  • Fori
    2 years ago

    @hippiegypsywitch pretty! Start a new thread for more visibility, but don't be surprised if nobody knows. These are tough to ID. And even though people say many of them are marked, I'm not convinced! I've only found a mark once and I've tried on lots!

  • lindac92
    2 years ago

    hippiegypsiewitch, your covered dish is recent and most likely a European import, partly pressed and partly cut. The dead give away it that unpolished bit of crosshatching you see....called "grey area" by cut glass collectors. Probably came with a paper sticker.

  • Mara S
    2 months ago

    There have been cases of lead poisoning from daily drinking from leaded glass. There are also - unfortunate- too many other sources of lead.
    Fairly high percentage of cardiovascular disease has been linked to lead; recent research. I don’t have it in me to go back and look for sources, but a Google search will bring it up.
    I plan to take expensive leaded glass to high end antique store, hoping someone who is spending a lot of money buying leaded glass will know the risks. (I could be wrong on this!) I’m keeping some as decorative items. Other leaded glass - and I dread it each time - I’ve been putting in the trash! (Lead Safe Mama is a great resource but may spike anxiety about lead, if you tend to get anxious about these things.)