Simply because cut glass has always been expensive, it has been imitated. To the collector, however, nothing is as good and no comparison can be made. Sometimes, however, identification is difficult.  There were four kinds of glass made to imitate cut glass; blown - molded, pattern pressed lead, pattern pressed lime and glass cut on fine finished pressed blanks.

Blown - molded glass has been blown into a mold in which a pattern has been cast. Many of these patterns mimic original cut glass patterns, but the outline of the design is too smooth and rounded to have been cut. Blown - molded glass itself is now collectible and prized by those who seek it.
Pressed lead glass, made around 1830, also copied patterns of cut glass but the pattern again made the edges soft and rounded, not sharp as if cut. Pressed lead has the ring of cut glass, but the piece will lack the prismatic luster.

Pressed lime glass was made after 1865 in large quantities and in many patterns. Many of the patterns were designed specifically for the press and could never have been cut because of their complicated designs. After 1880, and during the Brilliant Period when the fever was high for cut glass, many manufacturers pressed lime glass into patterns that are exactly like simple cut glass patterns. The most obvious was the daisy and button pattern that duplicated the star and hobnail.

Pressed blanks usually had the first deep incisions already pressed in them while the glass was molten. The process was designed to save the manufacturer the first cutting by the rougher is hand rubbed to keep from wasting glass by disposing of the large sections cut away. The sad part of this is that contact of the molten glass with a press caused the glass to lose its refraction, so it no longer glistens as if it were cut. Glass cut on pressed blanks gathers dust more quickly, fogs more easily, and cannot be polished as brightly. Furthermore, there are slight ridges on the inside of the piece opposite the deepest cuts on the outside. On fine cut glass the inner surface dries in the air and is very smooth. On pressed glass the inside is against the mold opposite a deep cut and consequently develops the raised places.

Some of the positive signs to look for in seeking out cut glass are ring, sparkle, sharpness and weight. Strike a piece of cut glass with a pencil or the snap of your fingernail, and it will ring like a bell unless it has a closed top like a carafe or a bottle. This is due to the lead and saltpeter used in its manufacture. Some early pressed glass was made of lead also, will ring, but the ring is shorter, sharper and brittle because of the lesser amount of lead used as a basic ingredient. It is not necessarily true, however, that the longer the ring, the better the quality of the glass.

The cutting of glass reveals one of its inherent qualities, its brilliancy. If you hold a piece of cut glass to the light, you will notice a brilliance in the refraction. No amount of polishing can replace the refraction lost to the press. Although the refraction is less than early American pieces due to impurities in the metal, most cut glass made in America after 1880 refracts light excellently due to the purity of the ingredients and the quick fusion attained with the hotter furnaces fueled by natural gas. Also the deeper cuttings in glass of the Brilliant Period made it sparkle even more. Glass polished on wooden wheels has a more lustrous appearance too. After 1900 acid polishing was often used for quickness and economy. Hand polished pieces are more desirable to the collector. The sharpness refers to the edges. Not only are the edges and points sharply defined, but they feel sharp. Just imagine the uneven surface that would be left by a mold.

Because of its lead content, cut glass is usually heavy. Sixty pounds of lead were used for every hundred pounds of sand for the pressed blanks used for cut glass. With less or without any lead, the piece would weigh significantly less.

Cut glass has always been fine glass. The American cut glass industry took great pride in their products and made every effort to make American cut glass the finest cut crystal in the world. American cut glass has always been the best of its time, as evidenced in the many public and private collections throughout the United States.

Illustrations from top to bottom:
Antique Daisy & Button Bowl
Early American Pressed Glass
American Brilliant Period Cut Glass 16" vase
American Brilliant period cut glass Russian pattern heart shape dish