Brief history of crystal
Looking at history we find that although cut glass was around for 2000 years, it was only in the second half of the 17th century that pure lead crystal came into existence. George Ravensrcoft an English glassmaker was experimenting with ways to improve the luster and clarity of his glassware found that by adding lead oxide to his molten mixture changed the properties of glass very dramatically.
It increased the clarity of glass and also increased the weight and the refractive index of the glass. The glass also became very soft and it was very easy to cut this glass without fracturing it. The popularity of this cut crystal spread so much that it led to a boom in the markets in Britain.
Eventually it spread all over Europe and America. History of crystal dates back thousands of years to the Mesopotamian times. Lead oxide was used to enhance the brilliance of glass as used today, but applied in different way. This was an alternate to the popular rock crystal which was more expensive, harder to cut and less refractive. George Ravensrcoft in the year 1676 revolutionized the methods of adding the lead oxide, which brought lead crystal a major step closer to its mass production as of today. Moving through the pages of history we find crystals were in use for other purposes than jewelry.
The human connection to crystals is one which transcends time and cultures.Iranians would like to use crystal ware as a decorative home appliances with other special Iranian arts since a long time ago because it returns to their customs. They are also one of the biggest buyers of best quality crystals in the world.