We didn't register for china, silver or crystal when we married since DH was in med school and we were living on one income. I was working as a medical librarian in DH's hospital and one of the other librarians was going back to Ireland to visit her family. Her father was a master cutter for Waterford and she offered to buy crystal for us and have it shipped back to our home.

So for our 10th anniversary we ordered 12 glasses each for red wine, white wine, champagne flutes, old fashioned - which make great juice glasses and footed ice tea. Our pattern is Ballyshannon - and at the time we could not have afforded it without her great discount.

Wedding registries? Well, they had one at the local dept store on the square in the northwest Arkansas town where my mother was married in 1940, so I think it is safe to say they've been around a LONG time. And are very useful!

I registered for Waterford "Lismore" in 1966. I have 10 water goblets, 10 wine glasses, a few port glasses and a few for sherry. I also have 8 double old-fashioned (the kind with the heavy flat bottom). I love them! One got broken on our move to LA and I have never bothered to replace it.

I also have 12 hollow-stemmed champagne saucer shaped glasses. Someone gave them to my DH's aunt - they were from Tiffany's. She passed them on to us. A hollow-stemed glass is nice when using a coupe as it keeps it bubbling longer. DD has Waterford "Araglyn" and she has champagne flutes. Both are correct, and fashion for each has changed from time to time.

Ah, the "lead in crystal" conundrum. There was a lot of press about this in the early 80's, but I have seen no one in "flyover" country, nor in the NYC Tri-State area appear to be concerned about this. I've known a lot of people in my 75 years on this earth and have yet to hear of anyone who has died from lead poisoning, regardless of the source. Yes, I am aware that chewing the lead paint from woodwork can cause impaired brain function in infants/toddlers. My own children were brought up in such houses as most people on this or any forum if older. Perhaps our parents didn't allow us to gnaw on the woodwork.

I still use my crystal decanters. Three are Waterford and 3 are antique ones from England. I do keep brandy, port, both sweet & dry sherry in them. I rarely drink or cook from them but they are fine when I do. Just about everyone I know keeps his bourbon (and there is the occasional scotch drinker in KY!), in a lead crystal decanter, the more antique the better.

We're not dropping like flies here, Elmer! But I guess in your eyes we are ALL pretentious! Oh, Elmer, you do put your foot in it regularly, don't you.

No, I don't think so. But if you want to accuse me of not keeping up with trends set in Kentucky, that's fine. I'm not sure where that might be the case, it's certainly not so here.

Martha, I have Waterford Kylemore too. Some was wedding, but my Grandmother started it for me after a trip to Ireland when I was a preteen, giving me a few pieces every Christmas. I have a dozen Water Goblets, Champagne/sherbets, Water Tumblers and claret glasses,a couple of brandy snifters, and 3 double old fashioned (need to replace one that my Mom broke). We also have a few Lismore wine glasses my DH brought into our marriage. I use the tumblers, the old fashions, and sometimes the goblets a few times a year, although like Anglo, I usually prefer to use my Silver goblets. I am really not to fond of the wineglasses, but occasionally do use them. DH uses either an old fashion, a tumbler or a brandy snifter a few times a week. He just likes the feel and weight. I wash them in the dishwasher, carefully placed and so far no problem.

It is nonsense as far as I am concerned that champagne should not be served in the open glasses of the old days. They maximize the experience of bathing your senses in the bubbles. I have antique glasses that I bought specifically for their shape and beauty. Preserve your bubbles if you chose but I want to experience mine.

My crystal is a pinwheel pattern from Birks Jewellery store. I have 8 of each in I don't know how many types of glasses. To be perfectly honest, the red and white wine glasses are too small and I went to Bed Bath and Beyond and just bought cheap glass wine glasses which are simple and I like them. That's what we use.

When we entertain I always bring out my good china, my sterling silver cutlery and my cheap Bed Bath and Beyond wine glasses. The water glasses though are the pinwheel crystal ones. I don't think it's pretentious at all.

Thank you for your comment, patriciae. My champagne glases are the open kind and I have always loved them. I'm not knowledgeable enough about wine or champagne to contribute to a discussion about either so when I saw the comments about open vs flutes I just assumed I had the wrong kind of glasses. Im happy to know that I can continue enjoying the sensation of champagne bubbles tickling my nose and to have had this reminder that none of us have to go along with the crowd if we choose to take a different path.

Thank you for that. :-)

I inherited pretty wide gold banded martini glasses from my mother. We don't drink martinis. I use them sometimes to hold desserts. Mostly pudding, custard, or ice cream based.

I live near Elmer's area. I don't call the people he speaks of health conscious. I call them health nuts. Afraid of every little thing. Did you know that just about anything in normal use across the rest of the country must be labeled as a potential cancer threat in California? Insanity runs amok.

I don't buy crystal and I don't drink wine. But I have inherited a bunch of fine crystal and I do use it for serving and drinking from without fear of poisoning guests. I don't know anyone who uses crystal for food storage. Afterall it's not Tupperware. There is no way the lead is going to hop off the crystal and leach into food or beverage during the length of time it takes to serve diner or have a party.

Lead hysteria, asbestos hysteria it all seems to start here. Junk science.

I think these are crystal? We got these as a wedding present. They weren't on the registry but one of my favorite gifts. The pitcher is part of the set.

watchmelol, asbestos issues are real, especially if one is renovating a space where the stuff is embedded.

At any rate, I have several sets of glassware, not sure if any of them are bona fide crystal. Dad was in the liquor business, and got gifted periodically at the holidays with sets of wine glasses, highball glasses and so forth. My brother got some, I got some.

I use them. I think for the short period of time the glass has wine in it, they're fine. Long term storage, no, I wouldn't do that. And I'd be more worried about lead-glazed ceramics giving off lead than about crystal doing it. Crystal is pretty inert when all is said and done.

I do have two pieces of Waterford crystal, one is meant to be a nut serving tray (since I can't eat tree nuts and I don't like plain ole peanuts unless they are cooked into a Thai delicacy, I use it to serve grapes, and it is beautiful). The other is a largish vase for cut flowers.

No wedding crystal but I bought some that had I think a lily on them. Very delicate and pretty but I never used them because of having small kids. I think I sent them to someone who would use them.

I'm not a big wine drinker nor do I host many dinner parties ... but I do think crystal is pretty. I have several air plants that I keep in crystal goblets that I bought at the local charity shop. No idea of their original value. Mismatched but sparkly :-)

Received a lot of china and my everyday dishes for wedding gifts. Received everyday glassware but just 2 crystal glasses. Thought I would fill in myself over time but my pattern was discontinued not long after my wedding. Inherited candlewick glassware and while it works with my everyday dishes not so much with my special occasion china. So far I have just borrowed from my mom and MIL when needed. As I have made it into my 50’s without buying nicer crystal, not sure if I ever will. Probably continue to borrow until I inherit.

DH and I didn’t care for the formal cut crystal look. It was hard to find plain crystal! We found it at Tiffany and very reasonably priced! We got full sets of wine, champagne, martini, and snifters in their plain crystal and then bar ware in rock cut (beer mugs/highballs/double old fashioned). We use these daily and still love them.

Plain stemware

Rock cut

I had Mikasa Parklane, too. Mine is all long gone.

watchmelol, asbestos issues are real, especially if one is renovating a space where the stuff is embedded.

Asbestos dust is an issue. Yes during renovations that may disturb it care needs to be taken. But the mere presence of asbestos when stable is no threat. Too many dollars being spent to remove asbestos that is no threat at all as long as it is stable and sealed up. Just like lead. The particulate doesn't just jump off surfaces and onto you like a bedbug.

The issues with lead glass was identified in decanters. Storing liquor in lead glass decanters can actually lead to leaching and ingesting lead but the liquor has to be stored for a good long time. Putting liquor in a decanter to serve is not going to have enough time to leach any more than a glass of wine has the time to leach. So don't store liquor in lead glass. Or avoid it if it worries you.

I too have the Gallia was purchased long before I even thought of being married. I believe they are white wines. I did have six but dropped one and it shattered into a million slivers. I also have an eleven inch tall flower vase and a large sugar and creamer. Macys where I purchased them stopped carrying them for the price I thought I could afford. The glasses were under $5 each. The vase and sugar and creamer were $8. That was back in the early 70's.

Late to the party on this thread...somehow I missed it. I have a vague memory of registering for crystal, Mikasa I think, but I don't think we received any as wedding gifts. We are not wine drinkers but I have purchased an assortment of inexpensive glasses over the years for parties.

I do have these from my grandmother, probably from the 20's or 30's. Depression glass, Fostoria? I have no idea, but I'm sure they were not expensive even then, they had little $ to spare. I have an assortment of wine, water, champagne, and sherbet.

Patriciae, I am with you on the old school-style champagne glasses. I've been junk-shopping funky, art deco, mcm version for the past couple of years. I love the open style champagne vs. the flute. I find the flute very difficult to drink out of. TOO many bubbles! However, the problem with the open style is that after 2 or 3 glasses they sure become spilly.

I could probably be persuaded to drink out of those blue flutes belonging to mtnrdredux, though. Wowzers!

I have a set of wine glasses and a few candle holders. I keep the candle holders on display in front of the mirror on a dressing table I use as a credenza in the dining room (for now, I'm looking for a home for it). I inherited the wine glasses. Don't use very often since I'm afraid of breaking them and I usually just grab a glass of wine to drink while cooking dinner or watching TV at night. I have some more casual glass and depression glass ones for that. If I ever have a sit-down formal dinner serving wine I use them, but that is a rare occurrence.

Love the Depression glass Joaniep!

The French perfected bubbly wine (champagne) and the flute glasses they think are best to use. There's no rule, use whatever you want, but the "old-style champagne glasses" are neither old style nor champagne glasses. Flutes have been in use for champagne for a very long time.

I think it's also pretty well agreed among wine lovers that clear, uncolored glass should always be used so that the color of the wine can be seen, assessed and enjoyed. Red wine is often in colored bottles to limit damage from light. Only when poured out can it be assessed. When wine starts to oxidize, the deep red color starts to turn brownish, a sign that the wine has started on its downhill leg of life. Similarly, some white wines start to turn yellow/brown when they oxidize.

My mom had flutes while my grandmother had coupe, so now I have flutes and my sister has the coupe. I even have stemless flutes (glass, not crystal). But I want some coupe stems, new or vintage. I am a bit nostalgic about them, remembering my grandmother using them for many things (and I was too young to drink most of her life). I will drink champagne from either, but love that you can also serve a cocktail, appetizer or dessert in a coupe. The flutes can take a cocktail, but they are more limited.

When I was young and broke, I used to buy odd, beautiful wine glasses at yard sales, flea markets and antique stores. They were all shapes and sizes and I had a plentiful supply. Each was chosen for it's unique style. I kind of miss them.

I use my Waterford flutes for all wines (we prefer the shape and size)...but then, I'm clearly a peasant :)

A couple of years ago, I took my daughter out to find the coupe style glasses...she likes the romance of them and can also eat Ben and Jerrys from them. Plus you can only do the champagne waterfall with coupe glasses... :)

FWIW I would prefer Lalique or Baccarat...

My sister has Edinburgh Crystal. It's very very pretty (she's even had it repaired and you can't tell unless there's a lineup with the others)...

Flutes are used for champagne expressly to minimize the surface area of the wine to preserve the flavor and the bubbles. Bell shaped White and larger and even more bulbous red wine glasses are designed to do the opposite, to allow the aroma to escape into the air but be contained to be enjoyed when sniffed and the liquid sipped.

You could also say you serve steak in a cereal bowl and eat it with a spoon and jokingly call yourself a peasant. There's a reason certain approaches are used for particular things and if you don't know or don't care, fine.

Cheer up Elmer, maybe if you’re a good boy Santa will give you some 100% lead crystal next Christmas. It’s way less pretentious than the 24%. For awhile, anyway.

When my daughter worked as a manager at a famous NYC restaurant, part-owner Robert de Niro always gave the staff Christmas presents. One year, it was 4 hollow-stemmed coupe champagne glasses.

I guess Robert didn't think to contact Elmer before making the gauche mistake.

Elmer did it EVER occur to you that we already know these pearls of wisdom that you deign to chuck our way? You have said nothing that I, at least, am not aware of...

I find your complete lack of class, (as well as your apparent ignorance of what is ironic) to be rather amusing. That is, when I can actually comprehend that you really don't understand who is making fun of you...

However, I know you don't want my pity. I'll leave that to any others you have in your fan base.

Sarcasm and irony are difficult for most to see in casual forum comments unless blatant.

Drinking wine from a flute doesn't speak to your knowledge but rather the opposite. Amuse yourself all you want. You're right, I don't care about snarky thoughts lacking a purpose for bring expressed.

I have some of those in storage from my grandparents, Elizabeth, along with other mid-century and post-war treasures of theirs. The funny thing is that they never actually used any of their “fancy” things, at least not that I saw. :)

That's kind of sad, Sammy, but I think it's fairly common for people to have beautiful things that they don't use. I once read a story a woman wrote about her grandmother. The grandmother had all this beautiful china and crystal that she never used because it was too good for every day. But, she also didn't use it for holidays or when entertaining because she was afraid some of it would get broken or chipped.

The grandmother lived to a ripe old age having never used these beautiful things but a handful of times. The granddaughter inherited all of these pieces and determined that she and her family were good enough to use the china and crystal every day and so they did. Some pieces were broken over the years, but the granddaughter didn't care about that. They were only things; what she cared about and what was most important to her were the memories made with her family and friends while sitting around the table actually using the china and crystal.

Along the same lines, I know of a young woman in her 30's who had some beautiful dresses in her closet that she never wore because she was saving them for a special occasion. Sadly, one day she was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and died not long after. One of her regrets was that she never considered herself or any occasion special enough to wear those dresses. After she died, her husband picked one out for her to be dressed in for her funeral.

Both of those stories were enough to make me stop hoarding my nice things and start using them. I enjoy them much more now than I ever did when they were hidden away in a cupboard or closest.

My wife received a full set of china and crystal from her grandparents when they passed away. So it is not necessarily what we would have picked for ourselves, but they are beautiful. I can't seem to find a close-up picture of the crystal but I found one of the corner china cabinet containing it.

I remember that one of the glasses had a sticker saying Moser, Czechoslovakia and did a web search for that to see if I could find a better image and it appears to be the Lady Hamilton pattern. I was astounded to see that it seems you can buy them new via Amazon, and that it seems that the current price for a single wine glass is $190 !

https://www.amazon.com/Moser-Crystal-Hamilton-Clear-White/dp/B005MKWVKA

Moser is lead free. Gorgeous pieces.

" I have some of those in storage from my grandparents, Elizabeth, along with other mid-century and post-war treasures of theirs. The funny thing is that they never actually used any of their “fancy” things, "

If you have this stuff "in storage", aren't you doing the same thing, keeping it but not using it? Why keep it at all?

I inherited a complete "bar set" of glasses of various sizes and shapes for various types of alcohol and mixed drinks. Would that I had the time and money and could spare the empty calories and liver capacity to sip from them!

bob_cville: If I had to guess the maker of the china in your cabinet, based solely on that photo you posted, I’d guess Rosenthal. Am I right?

That's kind of sad, Sammy, but I think it's fairly common for people to have beautiful things that they don't use. I once read a story a woman wrote about her grandmother. The grandmother had all this beautiful china and crystal that she never used because it was too good for every day.

DawnInCal: I think, at least in the case of my grandparents, that the “look but don’t touch” mentality came from the times they lived in (the Great Despression), their socioeconomic class (blue collar to middle class). I also think it could’ve been related to their status as being newly American (grandmother was daughter of Danish immigrants and grandfather emigrated from England at age 9) and the symbolism associated with having achieved “The American Dream.” I know that’s very clumsily worded, but I’m in the throes of a treatment-resistant migraine. :/

I think I understand, Sammy. Those pieces were a sort of status symbol along the lines of "we made it, we are successful". My grandmother was the same way about her crystal and china. On some level having them on display was more important to her than using them and made her feel that she had achieved a level of success that went beyond being the wife of a cattle rancher. Perhaps because by the time I came along my family had recovered from the depression, I grew up with the attitude that things like that should be used rather than put on display like a museum pieces.

Sorry about your migraine and hope you feel better soon.

I use my things. After all, who is more important than my family?

My grandmother was often given a new petticoat or nightgown as she got older. When she died my mother and her two sisters found every single one of these, still wrapped in tissue, in her drawers. She simply thought they were "too nice" for everyday wear, and in her 80's that was about all she had left - "everyday wear"! Such a shame. Yes, I do think some this came out of the depression but this grandmother was born in the 1870's so it was probably a result of being poor.

My aunt who didn't hurt for anything was like that Anglo. When she passed 5 years ago at almost 90 her daughter couldn't wait to toss stuff. Dozens of pj,'s, robes, packages of underwear all still with tags. Honestly some probably dating to the 70's. My cousin just threw it all out. Bag upon bag of beautiful stuff. I was stunned and angry but once her mom died it became hers to do with as she pleased. But a lot of folks could have used that stuff and **sigh** there was a few things I would have loved to have myself.

Thanks, Dawn! I’m feeling better now that I’ve taken another dose of medicine; I guess the third time was the charm. (I can only take two in a 24-hour period, and since I took one at 4:30 yesterday afternoon and another at 9-ish last night, I had to wait until 4:30 this afternoon to try again!) And I’m glad you were able to decipher what I was trying to say. I guess I’ll never know for sure what motivated my grandparents in certain areas of their lives, but I think my theories are pretty solid. Now if anyone can tell me why the aforementioned grandfather didn’t allow his children to use the front door, nor sit on the front porch, I’d really love to hear your thoughts on that one!

Not using "nice" things is ingrained in anyone who grew up in the Depression, as far as I can tell. Even when they use them, they don't enjoy the process, they just feel guilty. It's particularly frustrating when most of those folks don't have many years left, and I try and encourage them to "enjoy it while you can," but not possible in many cases has been my experience. My dad has all the money he could ever use at 86 and yet still gets the most pleasure out of paying 12 cents for something instead of a quarter.

My parents were children in the war in England and they feel the same way..."Don't waste" is something that I heard a lot, growing up. It puts something of a damper on beautiful things...like, do I deserve this? Simply pretty things do bring a bit of guilt for me. I'm a work in progress :-/

We didn’t get wedding crystal. We are very informal and even our wedding “formal” china (which I never use) wasn’t formal. This is what we drink wine from:

Stemless bubbly-glass wine glasses (not blue as they appear, just clear). Bubbles in the glass hide water spots

;-)

DH drinks red wine from these little juice glasses. We have about 8, all different designs, from Anthropologie.

We do have a set of 8 normal, plain stemmed wine glasses but rarely use them.

I want these!

> bob_cville: If I had to guess the maker of the china in your cabinet,
based solely on that photo you posted, I’d guess Rosenthal. Am I right?

I don't actually know. It also was inherited from my wife's grandparents. I'll check to see whether there is a label or mark on them. I only thought to look for the label on the crystal because years ago while we were moving, the moving company who packed and shipped them broke or badly chipped several of them in transit. I don't remember what they gave us in recompense for the damage, but I now realize it was nowhere near replacement cost.

I don't have my own wedding crystal, though I have inherited some lovely stuff that was gifted to my grandmother for her first wedding. I keep a set of 4 on the shelf, and keep the odd couple extra boxed up in case I need a replacement. The set was originally bigger, but stuff gets broken sometimes. Champagne bowl, footed pilsner, and a couple wines in two sizes. Small water glasses and dessert plates too. And 5 cordial glasses that are very different with dark glass top and milk glass bottoms that I think were from great-gmas? wedding. I do sometimes use all these glasses. Two matching heavy crystal pitchers- one mom got for her wedding, the other she found at a resale. I never use those.

What my love and I used for our wedding was part of a wedding gift from his folks. They are huge wine folks and host wine parties- they supplied a case each of a white and a red, a few bottles of bubbly, and the use of several racks of wine glasses for everyone to use. And the use of a big ole coffee maker.

Only one mention of Orrefors here (that I saw), but here's one more. I have the Prelude pattern. When I lived in NYC we used it a fair amount, especially the lovely little liqueur glasses. But that was a long time ago. I still think the design is beautiful, but I haven't used the glasses in decades.

Orrefors Prelude