How to Spot a Real Murano in 30 Seconds

The market for "Murano-style" glass is flooded with industrial Chinese pieces sold at the price of the real thing. Yet a genuine Murano can be spotted in thirty seconds, provided you know where to look. Here are the five signs.

1. The weight

Mouth-blown Murano glass is roughly 30% heavier than industrial cast glass of the same dimensions. Lift the piece: density is the first clue, and the most reliable.

2. The pontil under the base

Beneath a hand-blown object you will often find the pontil mark — the rough or polished point where the glassblower's rod was attached. A perfectly smooth, even base gives away industrial moulding.

3. The imperfections

A tiny bubble, a slight asymmetry, a variation in colour: these are proof of handwork, not flaws. Glass that is too perfect, too uniform, is suspect.

4. The signature and the labels

The great houses (Venini, Barovier & Toso, Seguso, Vistosi) sign with acid under the base or apply a label. A murrine (the small multicoloured glass disc) can also mark the origin. Learn two or three reference signatures.

5. The colour in the mass

On a real one, the colour lives within the glass, deep and alive under the light. On a copy it often sits on the surface, flat, sometimes painted — and the base is painted plastic.

Spotted a pendant or a vase in a window? Scan it on Beyit: authentic Murano, or "Murano style"?