Chips are the bane of glass collectors and sellers. I’ve bought glass sworn to be mint that has chips as big as a quarter inch long and I do believe the sellers simply didn’t see the problem. Most people run their fingers along the rim and report what they find. Unfortunately, there are all too many places for chips or rough spots besides the outer edge of the rim.
Step one is to start with clean glass. You will have a much better chance of finding damage if you have good lighting and can see the glass and not the dirt! This Tiffin Coronet bowl arrived in the mail filthy and had a nick hiding on the rim. The seller might have found the rough spot if she washed the bowl.
Bowls and plates usually chip on the rims and inner rims, seams, handles and once in a while on the underside foot or even the interior. Most of these can be found by feel or visually without too much trouble. Look at the piece and note places where there are sharp edges, or squared off rims, ribs, scallops, points or any protruding pieces and seams. These are the places you want to pay particular attention to.
Rim chips are usually right at the edge of the rim and you can find these by looking and by feel. Be careful here as chips can be very smooth.
You may find chips on the top or bottom of rims, as on plates or bowls. These may be the size of your finger and quite smooth. Usually you can see the larger ones. Feel the top and the bottom of the rims and pay attention to any roughness or change in texture or change in shape. The smooth chips can be pretty deceptive.
Sugar lids tend to get nicked on the flange that sets inside the sugar base. This Waterford Waffle depression glass sugar has a large chip on the inner flange that does not show easily to the eye but is easy to feel.
Inner rim roughness is the bane of older glass! Depression patterns with squared off rims are particularly prone to this and many people don’t think to check the inside rims. Look at the inner rim to see whether it has multiple sharp edges, especially if the rim has a stair step edge. Run your finger along each of the edges and again stop and visually inspect any discontinuities. Adam depression glass, like many patterns with sharply delineated rims, is notoriously prone to inner rim roughness.
Handles can get chipped, especially if there is any extra glass on the seams or a protruding pointed angle. The Adam cup shown felt rough but it was not easy to see exactly what was damaged.
Ribs on the pattern can get chipped; this has been a problem with Queen Mary depression glass which has sharp triangular shaped ribs. Check these by running your hands along the ribs.
Depression glass usually has some slight roughness on the seams as the glass was not fire polished but left as it came from the mold. There is a difference between slightly protruding seams, even those that might feel a little rough, and seams that are chipped. Usually you need to visually check the seams. Ones with chips may have a chewed up appearance. This Windsor creamer is a good example.
Depression glass may have a seam around the base that often seems to be a magnet for tiny nicks. Be sure to feel around the seams on the base as well as on the side. The ground base rims on elegant glass tend to get tiny nicks and scratches. Generally people don’t get too concerned about this, but these are chips and should be mentioned. Sometimes base rim damage can be very noticeable from the top since the glass is transparent. Each buyer has their own personal degree of fussiness and sellers need to assume that each buyer is very fussy!
Stemware may have been polished down and if so you may not feel an actual chip. Be alert for a change in texture or a change in the shape of the glass. If you feel a smooth rim and then there is a slight indentation or change in gradient, that may be a repair. It may just feel funny. When you find anything suspicious then check visually by close examination. Glass repairs may look like they were sanded or frosted. This Morgantown Virginia tumbler was repaired.
Stemware can get divots on the side of the rim that don’t go all the way through the glass and you won’t find these chips by feeling the top of the rim. Instead run your fingers along the top, the inside top edge and the outside top edge plus look at it in good light. This Tiffin Classic pink goblet is incredibly beautiful but has one of these divot type chips that destroyed the value of the piece.
On stemware also check the foot and the stem itself. The foot can get chips on the top or bottom of the rim, so check just as you did the goblet top rims. Lady leg stems don’t have much in the way of sharp edges which tend to get nicked, but the place where the stem meets the bowl and the stem meets the foot may have squared off glass that does chip.
And stems with molded shapes can easily get damaged. Fostoria Holly cordials can get tiny nicks on the vane of the stem and Cambridge stems with protruding beads can get the beading knocked off. Check these by feel.
So check for chips by:
- Wash the glass so you can see it
- Hold the glass in good light
- Look for sharp edges, protruding points, ribs, seams, scallops. These are the places most likely to chip.
- Run your finger slowly along each of these likely places; stop and check out any place that feels rough or has a discontinuity in shape
- Run your finger along the outer or top edge plus the sides of rims.
- Inspect closely by eye
Some ideas to describe the chips:
- Where it is
- Size, length, depth so on
- Whether smooth or rough
- How you found it; did you need to inspect with a magnifying glass
- And accompany with photos whenever possible
One word of caution: Be careful when checking glass or china by feel. You can cut yourself.
