Cristalor - The Boom products in 'Sugarglass'- Crinkles by Johnson Matthey

Sometimes called 'Sugar glass', the distinctive texture was created using a technique of glass enamels called 'Crinkles' which was patented by the Johnson Matthey company in 1938. It was probably also used by Kristalunie Maastricht to produce the Oranje-appel vaas by W.J.Rozendaal in the same year. After the war it was sold to glass factories under license in various countries, including Chance Glass (UK).

After the war, (and Kristalunie's decision to abandon the product), de Rupel produced these colourful textured glasses in large quantities. They are an iconic element of 1950's table glass.

The individual layers for crinkles and gilding were applied by hand, and although most Boom glasses seem to have four glided bands at the top. The glasses were made in a wide range of colours, which were probably selected 'to order' according to the wishes of wholesale buyers. Design and colour choices were to some extent also left to the individual decorators.

In the USA the crinkle technique was copyrighted by Matthey but glass factories in Belgium, Tschechoslovakia, and the UK (et al) had little problem in discovering or re-inventing the secrets.
The feeling of the texture can be controlled. either 'gritty and sandpapery' like the typical Chance products' or smoothly pitted like an orange peel.

As you will see from the pictures here, there are plenty of similarities between the glasses pictured, but some may have produced by other unidentified factories. There is insufficient surviving documentation in this area to provide us with much information.
As the sattelite age demanded brighter colours there were lots of factories producing similar successful products using the Crinkles technique. Only the occassional label which survives intact can be considered a realiable attribution.

Crinkle Glass from Braine-Le-Comte

These vases have a form normally associated with Leerdam, and have been decorated with 'crinkles' in grey for flowerheads, with additional foliage handpainted in gold. Braine-Le-Comte label. (prob. late 1950's)