Lead glass

Uncommon card · No. 118395

Lead glass, commonly called crystal, is a variety of glass in which lead replaces the calcium content of a typical potash glass. Lead glass typically contains 18–40% (by mass) lead(II) oxide (PbO); modern lead crystal or leaded crystal (historically also known as flint glass for the original silica source) contains a minimum of 24% PbO. Lead glass is desirable for a variety of uses because of its clarity. In marketing terms it is often called crystal glass. The term lead crystal is technically not an accurate way to describe lead glass, because glass lacks a crystalline structure and is instead an amorphous solid. The use of the term remains popular for historical and commercial reasons but is sometimes changed to simply crystal because of lead's reputation as a toxic substance. It is retained from the Venetian word cristallo to describe the rock crystal (quartz) imitated by Murano glassmakers. This naming convention has been maintained to the present day to describe decorative hollowware...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Paolo Neo, Public domain