Hand-cut and polished crystal vase, 1970s. This exceptional Italian lead crystal vase has a linear, simple and well-proportioned shape. It is made of the highest quality lead crystal with a high thickness, which allows for deeper grinding than usual, resulting in brighter and more brilliant reflections. The grinding geometry is designed and created specifically to obtain this effect. This particular vase was created between 1970 and 1974 in an artisan workshop in Colle di Val D'Elsa, Siena, Italy. The master craftsmen of this Tuscan city have enhanced the high refractive index of the vase by following traditional and complex glass processing techniques. After emerging from the furnace in its final form and being slowly cooled, the vessel underwent several meticulous steps: 1. Cutting and grinding: Using an Emery wheel continuously powered by a jet of abrasive sand and water. 2. Re-polishing: using a very fine grained sandstone wheel, also fed with water. 3. Polishing: using a cork bark wheel wetted with a mixture of water and pumice to make the surfaces more transparent. 4. Final polishing: obtained with a felt wheel wetted with a mixture of water, iron oxide and cerium oxide. Crystal craftsmanship was born in the beautiful medieval Tuscan village of Colle Val D'Elsa around 1300, thanks to the abundance of three natural elements: sand, water and wood. These were fundamental in giving life to the first glass industry. With the advent of machinery, the glass industry expanded greatly in the 19th century. In 1963, after important investments and experiments in Colle Val d'Elsa, where both artisanal and industrial production successfully coexisted, it was possible to produce glass with over 24% lead oxide. This glass competed in brilliance and achromaticity with that from England, France and Belgium, where the tradition of leaded glass was centuries old. Colle di Val d'Elsa produces 95% of Italian crystal and 15% of the world's, so much so that it has earned the nickname "Italian Bohemia". The artisans of Colle Val d'Elsa, absolute masters of their craft, have used these precise and complex processes to give our vase exceptional brightness, transparency and brilliance, making it a unique and precious work of art.
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SILVER Seller in Prato, Italy
