CUT CRYSTAL DECANTERS

CUT CRYSTAL DECANTERS :

CUT CRYSTAL DECANTERS, Cutting enhances the material, brings out the lustre of crystal and bathes it in light. The technique requires great skill. Another golden rule is that it takes nearly ten years to train a skilled cutter. Cutting is a cold working operation to give shape to and decorate the crystal. Bringing out the purity and sparkle of the material as light is refracted. The cutter gradually removes a portion of the substance, using increasingly high-precision wheels.

Once the main lines of the motif and the ink drawings transfer have been completed, the craftsman sculpts and makes incisions in the crystal with a rotary wheel, which he uses to draw the motifs in relief. These high-precision operations are performed using carborundum, sandstone, and diamond wheels rotating at high speed, each of which is suited to a particular form or style of incision. Water continues to slow throughout the operation. The cut piece is then polished on cork or felt wheels. At the Crystalworks, the senior craftsmen work with the younger members of staff and help them to try their hand at the full range of various pieces.