What Is Considered Fine Glassware?

Fine Glassware Depends Upon Lead Counts

• Most of the world uses the British standard for assessing the worth of fine glassware; that includes prestigious French, Italian and Czechoslovakian glass makers who have manufactured fine crystal for centuries. Lead content is the key to superior quality and distinguishes crystal from ordinary glass. To be marketed as "fine crystal," glasses must contain between 6 and 10 percent lead oxide while "lead crystal" must have between 10 and 14 percent. The epitome of quality is found in "full lead crystal" glasses with at least 24 percent lead oxide. Compare fine crystal to regular glasses under a microscope and, surprisingly, the good stuff is rougher.

Fine Glassware Is Pricey

• First-time visitors to crystal sections of big department stores have been known to adopt deer in the headlights' stares when they glimpse price tags. Fine glassware made by companies with international reputations -- like Lenox, Baccarat, Waterford and Lalique -- is pricey, which is why brides rarely expect a complete set of 12 from one wedding guest when they stipulate a name brand on their bridal registries. Spending $75 per glass, as of August 2011, is a sure sign that the stem you're holding is meticulously crafted and likely imported, though domestic glass producers do compete nicely with European and Asian brands.

Fine Glassware May be Dangerous

• In addition to the fragility and expense people confront when comparing fine to ordinary glass products, the lead controversy has swirled around fine glassware for decades. Nothing surpasses high-lead crystal as far as clarity and sparkle are concerned, but the higher the lead content, the more dangerous the interaction with high acid beverages like wines and fruit juices. Lead exposure issues have been widely publicized in conjunction with other products, but no health warnings have been issued about crystal glassware. If you're concerned, you might want to skip the crystal or investigate the new non-lead fine glassware products that are quickly gaining popularity.

The Future of Fine Glassware

• A new fine glassware kid is in town: crystal that substitutes barium carbonate and oxides of strontium, zinc and titanium for lead. Companies like Schott Zwiesel, Luigi Bormioli, Ravenscroft and Spiegelau are willing to buck the stigma of non-lead crystal and, if you can find it, this is your best fine glassware bet if you want quality with no health compromises. Basic glass -- whether an $80 Waterford goblet or a respectable $20-per-stem domestic stem -- must still be blown and fired in the same proportions of sand, soda ash and limestone, so your purchase decision may ultimately come down to taste, budget and health concerns.