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Identifying Real Baccarat Crystal Items

By Janet Burns


Baccarat refers to a company established in France, and they started producing baccarat crystal starting 1816. They also own two museums: the Musee Baccarat in Meurthe-et-Moselle and the Musee Baccarat in Paris. The company started creating window panes, stemware and mirrors in 1764, and they started to use the first crystal oven in 1816. They had 3000 workers at that time.

In 1993 the company began making jewelry and expanded into the perfume business in 1997. In 2010 Baccarat already had stores in more than 10 locations. Starting 2012, they also opened a luxury hotel chain which features their crystal chandeliers. Given their popularity and quality, each item is quite expensive and if you want to purchase one it is important to know that you are getting the real thing.

Here are some ways to establish if the piece you are interested in is original or a fake one. For paperweights, for instance, you need to check if they are marked with a B and a year, representing the year they were made. If your piece only has a number on it and the B is missing, this means that the item is from 1849. Also, the numbers forming the year will be differently colored, blue, red or green, based on the year it was made in.

Their bottles for perfume created from 1920 to present look for a logo featuring a wine glass, a jug and a goblet with the name of the company printed in a circle. Other items made from glass created from 1936 also have the logo with the wine glass, carafe and goblet, along with the name in capital letters. The later pieces could only have the words, without the images.

Crystal pieces that were created more recently have the company's name on them: "Baccarat". Other pieces will only present a large B or could be marked with a sticker. This could be rectangular or quadrilateral and will feature the logo. Rectangular stickers are white with a border, usually red, or totally red with text written in gold. Quadrilateral stickers are gold with a black border and the name of the company in the middle.

If you see a piece that you want but it is unmarked, it is a bit more difficult to check if it is original. Check out the websites and catalogs from various collectors and get yourself familiar with the styles throughout the years. For instance, in the '20s as well as the '50s, cube shapes were popular, while in the 1960s the Venetian glass was in style.

You can also study the style of the designers that worked for the company, as each of them brought something special to the design. Still, this may prove a bit more complicated if you are not a connoisseur. One more common way to check if your piece is original would be to weight it, as the crystal will be a lot heavier than a fake piece.

If you are still not sure or are having a hard time figuring it out, contact a representative or visit a store that is near you. They will be able to help you and answer any questions you may have about the item that you want to purchase. There crystals are very valuable and they deserve the utmost attention and care.




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