If you have a treasured glass or crystal award that has been damaged, then all might not be lost! Many types of glass awards and trophies can be beautifully restored to their former glory.
Whether you are a child or an adult, there’s nothing that quite compares to that feeling of receiving an award or trophy for a job well done. It feels even better when it’s received for something that you really worked hard for. As a child, maybe it was for an achievement in that sport you practised for every single week for years. As an adult, maybe you received the award for the business you toiled over for decades and put your heart and soul into. An award or trophy means much more to its owner than can ever be displayed on the plaque. It is a representation of achievement, success and determination.
So if your glass award gets damaged, it’s usually really upsetting. An award bestowed upon you for one of your greatest life achievements is not a thing that can easily be replaced. Some people worry about having their awards made from glass, because of them getting broken. Historically, we’ve been trained to believe that glass is a weak and fragile material. Of course, when glass is thin – like the kind we drink from – this is often true. But glass awards are made of stronger stuff than that. A glass award is usually designed to be sturdy, and is made up of thick, strong glass. Despite their strength it’s not impossible for a chip, crack or other break to occur. So what do you do if your precious glass or crystal award has been damaged?
You need to seek out a glass restoration expert. In many cases, your award can be restored to its original beauty with any repair virtually invisible to the naked eye. One of the worst possible breaks that can happen is if your award is made solely from glass and the top has been separated from the base. Please do not attempt to glue these back together. No amount of super glue is going to hold. They’ll only separate again and probably cause more damage when they do. But a glass restoration expert will be able to use their years of glass craftsmanship to grind down the top and re-attach using museum quality adhesive. So you see, even the most devastating of breaks often has a solution. Which means that any minor cracks or chips are mere child’s play for these experts. Often all it takes is a small amount of specialist glass filler, some sanding and polishing.
Unfortunately, though glass repairs are possible – they are often costly. For some people it is very important to them to preserve their original award. It holds great meaning for them and they are prepared to pay the price for restoration. Other people will be happy to have a replacement award, which will almost always work out much cheaper. At Fen Regis, we are able to make all of our glass and crystal awards bespoke. So there is every possibility we would be able to re-create your original award exactly. If you’re able to provide us with photos of your award, or even come down to the shop and give us the damaged award to duplicate it would really help. Please get in touch if you’d like to discuss your requirements.