The diamond-like brilliance of cut crystal glass exudes wealth and even opulence. While it is still costly new, there are antique bargains to be had.

The London GAZETTE of October I, 1709, noted the arrival of a set of German cut and carved glasses, the like of which had ‘not been exposed to public sale before’. The newly developed lead glass was ideally suited to this technique, and within 20 years several London manufacturers were producing a variety of cut-glass cruets, casters, salts, punchbowls and dishes.

The basic technique has not changed since then. After cutting by revolving wheels, until the mid-19th century each line or groove was buffed with rotating brushes and progressively finer abrasives to produce a clear, smooth and regular surface. Late 19th and 20th-century pieces were acid polished instead by dipping into hydrofluoric acid, giving a glossier surface but very slightly rounding the cut edges.

Antique Collector Magazine

There are subtle colour differences, too. Comparing a collection of ‘clear’ cut glass in daylight reveals a range of shades, including grey, purple, black, yellow and blue. The colours come from impurities in the raw materials. The best English cut lead crystal and also the finest Irish Waterford glass have hardly any colouring impurities, and modern glass in particular is sparkling white.

Eighteenth-century glass was often flat or diamond cut. Facets, or shallow diamond-shaped cuts, triangles, flutes and arches were incised into wine-glass and candlestick stems, and in the bodies of ewers and decanters. Cruets with similar forms of cutting, with or without their silver mounts, are quite common and collectable. They can be found for between £50 and £200. Small items such as jelly, sweetmeat and syllabub glasses can be picked up for under £100.

Mitre cutting was particularly popular between 1800 and 1830. A field of diamonds was often made by cutting a series of grooves and then another series at a 9o-degree angle. Thickly cut horizontal grooves became another common form of decoration. One of the most popular styles of the period is known as ’strawberry diamonds’. It has a cut field of diamonds, with each diamond further cut with tiny crisscross lines. An amazing variety of cut patterns and motifs exists on 19th- century decanters, and these and other items can be found for around £60 to £I50.

A broader style of cutting was introduced from the 1820s, with vertical cut flutes. At first the intention was to give the glass a lighter, more extended feel, but mitre cutting was soon added, as well as other deeply cut, Gothic-style patterns that emphasised the weight of the body.

New heights of cutting skill were reached in the 1880s. Glass-makers working in Scotland and the Midlands, such as Stevens & Williams and Thomas Webb & Sons, experimem ted with complex prismatic and geometrical patterns. Pieces from this period sell at auction for between £40 and £120.

Many patterns were revived in the late loth and early loth centuries, and it can be difficult to tell when a piece of cut glass was made except by subtle colour differences. Modern pressed glass made in imitation of cut glass, may look very similar. But it can be distinguished by the slight blurring of lines and the lack of really sharp edges. In cut glass the lines are cut, dissected and polished extremely finely and the edges are crisp.

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