Texture presents some of the most apparent differences between acrylic and crystal awards. Acrylic materials are very lightweight, making them easy to handle. In contrast, crystal is usually heavier, so it’s best to keep the size a bit smaller to avoid burdening your honored team members. Although the material is heavier, crystal is significantly more fragile than acrylic and can break easily if dropped or knocked. Acrylic is considered tough to shatter, but its surface can scratch relatively easily. Fortunately, these surface scratches can often be polished out, restoring the award to its original appearance. Crystal, meanwhile, offers a harder surface that is less likely to scratch from regular use.

3. Appearance

The appearance is what presents the most eye-catching differences between acrylic and crystal awards. From a distance, the two may look alike, but a closer examination will reveal clear distinctions between them. Light can pass through both materials, giving them their translucent look, but with crystal, the light sparkles as it passes through, lending it a more glamorous and elegant appearance. When compared to crystal, acrylic might seem and feel less premium. To truly demonstrate to your team members how special and valued they are to your organization, crystal is undoubtedly the superior choice.

Trust Able Recognition for Your Acrylic and Crystal Awards

Here at Able Recognition, we offer a wide variety of awards to choose from for your upcoming awards ceremony or employee appreciation dinner. From classic custom wooden plaques to stunning crystal trophies, and everything in between, you are sure to find the award you’re looking for. We can also handle custom orders and will work closely with you to develop the perfect award to fit your organization’s needs and preferences. Contact us or browse all of the options available on our site now to begin planning your new awards and to learn more about our products and services.

When it comes to recognizing your team for their hard work, there are plenty of options for luxurious corporate awards. The three most common mediums for business recognition awards are crystal, glass, and acrylic. All are quality choices, look fabulous, and have similar optical properties. But one product stands out as the best stress-free choice for corporate recognition, and our intent with this article is to review the pros and cons of each to help you make an informed purchasing decision.

First, let's examine each of the mediums to understand their chemical compositions and how each differs.

What is Crystal?

Lead is what gives crystal its weight and brilliance—a quality that neither glass nor acrylic can match. Many of the crystal awards you will find in award shops worldwide are made in Chinese factories, and as of this writing, there is no information available about the lead oxide content in the chemical composition of the displayed pieces.

Why is this important? The main reason is that to be considered crystal, glass must contain at least 7% lead oxide, and high-quality crystal should actually contain at least 24%. In comparison, the lead content of Swarovski crystal, regarded as one of the finest types in the world, is 30%. With a 23% variance from a minimum standard to high-quality crystal, it is essential to ask the award store about the actual quality of the crystal awards for which you are paying a premium.

What is Glass?

Technically, glass is made from opaque sand subjected to extreme heat. However, today’s glass consists of a combination of sand, recycled glass, calcium carbonate, and sodium carbonate. Calcium carbonate is primarily used to lower the melting point (energy efficient), and sodium carbonate (limestone) is added for strength. These materials together form a compound called soda-lime-silica glass, which you encounter daily in your home windows and light fixtures, and in the context we’re discussing, glass awards. One unique feature of glass as a medium for awards is that since much of the glass comes from recycled materials, it can be colored in shades like jade, blue, and red.

Glass awards are often made by pouring molten glass into a mold or cutting shapes from thick sheets of flat glass, which are then polished with diamond tools on the edges to create unique angles that catch the light and showcase their shape. The price of glass is often lower than that of crystal, with a similar appearance.

What is Acrylic?

Acrylic, or commonly referred to as Lucite® (a brand name), consists of two components: a clear monomer liquid and a powder polymer that resembles high-quality white flour. When mixed together, they form a liquid compound that can be poured similarly to cake batter. The liquid compound can be poured into shaped molds or cast flat at a certain thickness to create sheet materials that can be shaped. The application of consistent heat and pressure leads to a chemical reaction called polymerization, where the monomer and polymer link together to form crystalline chains of molecules that clarify and solidify the materials.

Lucite® material and acrylic molds can be cut and shaped similarly to wood, polished to a higher clarity level than glass, and sometimes crystal, depending on its quality. Lucite also provides the ability to embed items within it to protect and display them in what we call acrylic embedding.

Second, let’s take a look at the different decorating methods used by award manufacturers to customize crystal, glass, and acrylic.

Three major decorating methods are used in award manufacturing to embellish crystal, glass, and acrylic. Each comes with a set of benefits, and most importantly, the appearance on the award. You can read more about decorating methods in our article Mark of Distinction, which delves into the history of engraving techniques and all of the processes below.

Laser Engraving

Since the turn of the century, laser engraving has become a necessity in almost every award shop around the world. Both crystal and glass and cast acrylic can be engraved with lasers, with a slightly different appearance that should be considered when ordering awards. The image above shows a Trotec® Speedy 300 Flex laser engraving machine.

Laser-Engraved Crystal and Glass

Crystal and glass can be engraved using appropriate power settings and speeds, resulting in the substrates cracking, thus changing the engraved area from clear to a light grey opaque appearance. Note that we refer to the term "cracking," which is precisely what happens when concentrated laser light applies heat to the surface. While the substrate remains stable, the crackled appearance on the surface of crystal and glass does not produce the high-quality hazy effect achieved through sandblasting.

Laser-Engraved Acrylic

Cast acrylic is considered the best for laser engraving. With the right power and speed settings, the laser can be adjusted to lightly etch the surface or engrave deeply into the acrylic. Both techniques produce a high-quality aesthetic similar to sand-blasted crystal with the simplicity of laser engraving.

Deep laser engraving into acrylic creates a cavity that can be filled with colors to add more hue to the engraved area. Highlighting a name or logo in a specific color can change the perceived value of the award at a very low cost.

Direct UV Printing

Recently, direct printing has begun to change the appearance of awards and trophies around the world. Direct printing is akin to a complex inkjet printer fitted with special ink that is cured by UV light upon contact with the surface. While direct UV printing is most often used on acrylic, glass and crystal can also be printed on with some limitations. The image above shows a Mimaki UV printing machine.