Dinner Parties

Dinner Parties

Christmas is fast approaching, which means it's time to start planning those dinner parties. And what better way to impress your guests this year than with a fine  decanter to pour your vintage from?



 If you are going to invest in a quality decanter then you must have a set of exquisite wine glasses to complete the look - your table spread will not only be the envy of all your friends and family, but you will have a wonderful collection to treasure.

Wine glasses and decanters are not difficult to come across, they can be found in abundance at specialist glass auctions across the country in all manner of shapes and sizes. But, as a buyer with money burning in your pocket and so many pieces to choose from it is useful to know which wine glasses and decanters you should be looking out for. What will best suit your budget?Here's a general indication of just some of the many styles available to the collector

Dinner Parties

Don't panic, not all  wine glasses come with a hefty price tag  For a collector with a more modest pocket,   opaque-twist glass stems from the second half of the 18th century may suit your dinner parties  particularly with engraving, from the early part of the 19th century, are a good buy,'  

 Dinner Parties  Glass , Top Tips 

• With glasses and decanters - it is vital you buy pieces in good condition as you are likely to be using the items and you don't want cracks and chips in the pieces before you even start.

• With wine glasses the feet tend to get chipped first and often these chips are restored using a colorless filler, so study them carefully. Chipped feet are rare on baluster glasses because the foot rims are usually folded (doubled back to make them stronger), but chipped and scratched bowls are more common defects to look out for.

• Occasionally when a wine glass has been damaged severely it is cut-down/trimmed to remove the chips, which alters the proportion of the parts. Avoid buying these pieces unless the glass is so rare that a defect such as this can be overlooked.

• To ensure a modern wine glass is not being passed off as an antique or to be able to tell if an antique has been cut down due to damage, check the base.Modern pieces have a smaller base, whereas antique examples usually have a base which is in proportion to the rim.

Dinner Parties

• A genuine 18th century glass should be fairly heavy with evidence of some wear and tear. A watch repairer's eyeglass is a useful tool to check the foot for wear and also to find evidence of hand-blowing indentations in the bowl. Be careful, as there are many fakes out there!

• Opaque-twists of various kinds have always been popular with collectors and as a result demand has often exceed supply, therefore, reproductions to exists, so buy from a reputable dealer.


• If you are buying an antique decanter that is being sold as 'complete', ensure that the stopper is the original and has not been replaced with a modern one.


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