Murano glass question
 

We'll be in Venice in a few weeks. Our excursion includes a visit to Murano Island. I've been reading that sometimes a piece being sold as genuine Murano glass may actually have been made in China. If I buy a piece of Murano glass on Murano Island, can I feel confident it's genuine? Thanks.

Probably, but not guaranteed. You need to look for signs in the shop window and/or stickers on the glass pieces that say "Vetro Artistico Murano." You can Google for an image of what that logo looks like.

No guarantee. There is an official seal, but it is not universally used. I was on Murano two weeks ago and there were several stores with signs, "Not made in China". In the end, you have educate yourself what a Murano glass should look like or stick to well known studios with its own factory. This, however, can get very expensive.
If the price is too cheap, it probably is not. However, the reserve is not true. High prices does not guarantee authenticity. Handmade glasses have artistic variations to them. However, you must distinguish this from sloppy variations. If items look mechanically produced elsewhere, they probably are.

Those of you who have visited Murano before will probably have noticed that many/most of the factories there have closed because of the cheap Chinese competition. Semi-trained Chinese glass blowers using industrial equipment can turn out pretty good (shoddy) imitations of the work of a grand master who has spent his life learning the trade.

As explained by the previous posters, you need to educate yourself on the differences between the two. Nothing one can convey on a travel forum, however. I suggest you go into any of the high end, legitimate, shops either on the islands or in Venice itself and ask to be educated. Any proprietor or employee would be happy to explain in detail how one can spot differences between knock offs and the real article. I would be surprised that they did not have examples to demonstrate the differences.

My wife is a glass artist in the Pacific Northwest in the States, and it is even getting to be a problem in this center of art glass production. There have even been reports of someone imitating Dale Chihuly's pieces, which would take a real master. (Read. one of his ex students down on his luck).

This is nothing new, of course. You can't imagine how many fake Tiffany vases are out there! I have three, myself, but I paid garage sale prices for them and I love them. My best advise is that if you see a piece that moves you, and you can afford it, go ahead and buy it. If you do not, you will regret it forever -- and if you find out it is a fake you never need tell anyone.

Thanks for the great responses and info. I think I will do exactly what you advise nukesafe. If I see a piece that moves me, I'm getting it. No looking back. No regrets.

Good advice from Nuke.
We bought a Limoges piece which was discarded because it didn't pass the quality check.
We asked what was the default. She didn't say. We never found. The piece is in our living room since 20 years now.

http://www.worldviator.com/great-ven...-murano-glass/

have a look at some of the glass makers mentioned in this article - Moretti for example.

the good stuff isn't cheap though.