I don’t generally collect cut crystal.  But one day I realized that my guests were forced to drink their non-wine beverages out of Ikea glasses.  There is nothing wrong with that of course, but it just didn’t seem fair.  Always nice to have an excuse to broaden

one’s holdings.  Very difficult to find nice vintage glasses for mixed drinks.  I came across these in an antique store in Orono, Ontario.  Orono has turned into a little haven for antiquers in the GTA area.  I’m not 100% sure that they are Balmoral.  I always find it hard to identify cut pieces – so many cross thatches!  If they are Balmoral, they aren’t particularly old – about 25-35 years old.

I had always thought of Royal Doulton as a maker of china.  But these are marked.  I like the heft of these glasses.  They feel very solid in the hand.  I have to admit that they really don’t ‘spark’ me, but they are shiny and I guess you gotta love that.