Louis Comfort Tiffany developed the stained glass assembly technique of wrapping the outline of each piece of lampshade glass in a thin sheet of copper. 

You can say that a Blinds is true Glass depth and brilliance of colour, especially when illuminated. But also by doing different tests that will guarantee that the lampshade is glass

We'll explain how to recognize if the glass in your fixture is made of glass or plastic. But be aware before that the lamps even reproductions are very rarely plastic. If this one is not made of glass there is no welding, the stained glass is just drawn on the trunk shade.

How do I know if the stained glass window of a Tiffany lamp is made of glass or plastic?

Why does Tiffany's lampshade glass sound like plastic? The glass is in small pieces, it is wrapped with a sheet of copper, that's what gives this impression of thud. But it's real glass.

Do you still have a doubt?

If after our first explanations you still have doubts about the authenticity of the composition of the stained glass windows of your lamp follow these steps:

  1. Heat a needle with a lighter
  2. Wait until this one is almost red
  3. Try to pass it through a piece of the stained glass window
  4. If it passes through, it's plastic and it melts, otherwise it's glass

If you have a small blowtorch, you can proceed as in the video below, however be careful not to overheat the stained glass, and test it gradually, as it if it is real glass a thermal shock could cause it to explode.

Video: Test whether your Tiffany lamp is made of glass or plastic?

The fact that your lamp is made of glass does not make your light an old and rare piece, in fact almost all copies are made of glass, all lamps sold at Htdeco have glass blinds.

How do you distinguish a real Tiffany lamp from a fake one?

When you find a lamp that looks old to you, learn to closely inspect each room, both the lampshade and the base of the lamp, and pay attention to the following features to help you separate the real from the fake:

  1. Turn over the lamp and look under the base and look for a grey metal ring. The original Tiffany lamps were made with a heavy lead ring inside a hollow bronze base (or sometimes enamelled or mosaic). Reproductions tend to use brass, zinc, white metal, wood or even resin bases.
  2. The original bronze base (or similar metal base) must have a patina, that is, a brownish or greenish film on the surface of the metal that occurs naturally following oxidation over a long period of time. Although these small color changes should indicate that the lamp is an original Tiffany, beware that some counterfeits may have a fake patina.
  3. Stamps or signatures may be a sign of authenticity, but you need to know what you are looking for. Tiffany's marking system consists of cutouts or engravings in the base of the lamp that have changed over the years and are therefore easy to copy. Don't rely on this feature alone.
  4. As you look at the base of the lamp, watch out for the buttons. The authentic antique Tiffany lamps will have either a rotating button to operate the lamp or, in some cases, chains as a switch.

If it is easy to know if a blind is made of glass or plastic, it is more difficult to see if it is a Tiffany old or modern table lamp. Even though the Tiffany fixtures from HTdeco are very well made, they are not signed and are therefore recognizable because our intention and sell a reproduction and wish to be transparent about our products. The items for sale on our website are all reproductions that have fallen into the public domain and are not signed.

You want to buy an old lamp from Tiffany, speak to an expert who can provide you with a certificate of authenticity, otherwise visit our store you can buy a reproduction of a Tiffany lamp with a glass lampshade at an unbeatable price and high quality.