The Difference Between Acrylic, Glass, and Crystal Awards

At Suburban Custom Awards, we provide a wide variety of selections of awards, trophies, and plaques. Among them are these high-quality acrylic, glass, and crystal awards. Many times, these three types of materials can look alike, depending on the particular cut and style. But there are some major differences. Just a surface glance may not be enough to realize the different qualities. Here are a few characteristics and qualities to consider when deciding between these types of awards.

Acrylic Awards

It’s usually much easier to tell when an award is made out of acrylic, even though it looks a lot like glass. When you touch the object, though, you’ll immediately be able to tell it is made from acrylic. Many people refer to the brand, “Plexiglas” and apply it to acrylic objects. It feels a lot like plastic but is a lot more durable. However, there are some significant differences between plastic and acrylic. Here are three of those key differences:

• Acrylic glass is basically shatterproof. You do not have to be as careful when handling it as if you were dealing with glass or crystal.
• It’s lighter and easier to process, so it’s cheaper to use for molding awards into various shapes.
• Acrylic surfaces are easily scratched, but also easy to remove them by polishing.

Glass Awards

Most people know what glass is. It is visible in many places as we see windows and different types of glassware daily. The biggest confusion comes from trying to tell the difference between glass and crystal. Sometimes, deceitful companies will put a “crystal” label on a glass product so they can sell it for a higher price, even though it is categorized as glass. There are ways to tell the difference by examining the material carefully.

The primary difference in crystal and glass is lead. Glass awards contain little or no lead, which makes the product lighter. For many people’s tastes, it also makes the item less ornamental. When light travels through crystal it is not diffracted. This dazzling quality isn’t present in a glass item.

Crystal Awards

For most artisans, the more lead crystal contains the more desirable it is. You may understand the beauty if you’ve seen elaborate decanters or other types of carefully carved crystal glassware. Lead is what makes the substance softer so it’s easier to work with. You’ll rarely see meticulously crafted items made from glass.

You’ll notice that as light travels through a crystal award it is diffracted into a brilliant display of a spectrum of colors. The decorative cuts and carvings add to the sparkling qualities of a piece. This is the primary observable difference between glass and crystal awards. A glass product will not display the glittering quality. It is necessary to have lead oxide in order to produce this colorful effect.

Looking for Acrylic, Glass, and Crystal Awards?

Visit our website to view the wide variety of glass, crystal and acrylic awards we carry. Then contact us to discuss the free custom engraving included. There’s no better way to recognize an achievement than with a trophy or award from Suburban Custom Awards.