Crown Corning 'Regis' Port Glasses, Set of 12, Original Box, New Old Stock, circa 1969–1970s, Made in Australia

Age of an Item

Antique: An item that is at least 100 years old.

Vintage: An item that is at least 20 years old but less than 100 years old and is representative of its era.

Retro: A newer item designed in the style of a past era. It is not from that era but is a modern homage to it.

Condition of an Item

Mint: As new, with no signs of wear.

Excellent Vintage Condition (EVC): Shows minimal signs of wear through use but is not perfect.

Very Good Vintage Condition (VGVC): Shows some signs of age and use but is still in good overall shape.

Good Vintage Condition (GVC): Shows clear signs of wear, use, and age.

Perfectly Imperfect: This is not an official term. We've adopted it for the purposes of The Timeless Edit because we believe damaged items still have value. Our definition of Perfectly Imperfect is an item that has visible damage but remains beautiful as a decorative piece or suitable for use in a different capacity from that for which it was originally designed.

Common Flaws Found in Antique and Vintage Items

Air Bubbles: Air bubbles in hand-blown glass are a natural result of the traditional glassmaking process, where air becomes trapped in the molten glass during its creation. They are often seen as a sign of authenticity, indicating the item is handmade and unique, rather than a defect. While a small number of bubbles is generally acceptable, a high concentration of bubbles may indicate fragility. In some cases, air bubbles are an intentional decorative feature. Air bubbles are also found in Depression Glass due to its mass production method, where glass was quickly moulded with little concern for perfection — these bubbles are a common characteristic that signifies authentic pieces.

Bottom Wear: Common in older items, especially glass, and often an indication of age. Wear to the base of an item is caused by everyday use over time and includes scratches, scuffs, shallow chips, flakes, and flea bites.

Chip: Chips are considered either shallow or deep. A shallow chip is typically inconspicuous. A deep chip is large enough to be immediately apparent.

Crazing: Crazing is a web of fine cracks that occurs only in the glaze layer of fine bone china and porcelain. It is a normal occurrence, particularly in older items.

• Clean Crazing: The cracks are clear, without any staining from food, moisture, or other contaminants. Clean crazing can be used as an intentional decorative design element.
• Stained Crazing: This occurs when food particles, bacteria, or other contaminants get into the cracks over time, causing them to darken and become visually conspicuous. Items with stained crazing are not recommended for use with food but are still suitable as decorative pieces.

Firing Flaw: An original flaw caused during the firing process. Examples include pinholes or blisters in the glaze, grit stuck to the glaze, stains caused by an impurity in the porcelain, and shrinkage cracks that have opened during the drying or firing process. This is not considered damage.

Flake: A small and shallow chip which breaks the surface of an item.

Flea Bite: A tiny, pin-sized chip or nick in the surface of an item. It is a common form of imperfection in older items, especially glass.

Hairline Crack: A narrow and tight break going through the glaze and porcelain body, visible from both sides of the item. It is not always immediately obvious and can be missed on first inspection. Generally, a hairline crack does not affect the integrity of the item.

Maker's Miss: An unintentional inclusion or air bubble in the item caused or overlooked by the glassblower or maker during the manufacturing process.

Scratch: A mark which compromises the surface of an item and which feels raised, rough, or sharp to the touch. Not to be confused with Straw Marks and marks which can occur during the manufacturing process.

Straw Marks: Marks on the external surface of glass that look like fine lines or even scratches. They occur when molten glass is cut with shears and the resulting mark doesn't fully smooth out before the glass cools and sets. They are not considered damage but are instead a common characteristic of old, handmade, or machine-pressed glass. Unlike a scratch, straw marks feel smooth to the touch. Straw marks are commonly found in Depression and Carnival Glass.

Water Mark / Stain: Patches, ridges, deposits, and clouding on glass caused by water left standing in the vessel for a lengthy period. Such stains cannot be removed.

Materials and Techniques

Backstamp: The maker's mark printed or impressed on the base of a ceramic or glass item. Backstamps typically include the manufacturer's name, country of origin, pattern name, and sometimes a date code. They are the primary tool for authenticating and dating vintage pieces, and their design often evolved over a maker's history, allowing collectors to pinpoint when a piece was produced.

Bone China: A type of porcelain developed in England in the late eighteenth century, distinguished by the inclusion of bone ash (calcined animal bone) in the clay body. Bone ash gives bone china its characteristic creamy translucency, warmth, and exceptional strength relative to its delicacy. When held to the light, genuine bone china glows. It is the material of choice for the great English china makers — Royal Albert, Royal Doulton, Shelley, Coalport, and many others.

Gilding / Gold Trim: The application of gold to the surface of ceramic or glass as a decorative finish. On vintage pieces, gilding was typically applied using real gold — most commonly 22-carat gold — either by hand or by transfer, then fired to fuse it permanently to the surface. The quality and condition of gilding is an important factor in assessing a piece; worn or rubbed gilding is a common sign of heavy use.

Hand-painted vs Transfer Print: Hand-painted decoration is applied directly to the ceramic surface by an artist, making each piece subtly unique. Transfer printing involves applying a pre-printed design to the surface, allowing for consistent, repeatable patterns at scale. Many pieces combine both techniques — a transfer-printed ground with hand-painted highlights or gilding added over the top. Both methods are found across the great ceramics houses and each has its own collectible appeal.

Iridescence / Carnival Glass: An iridescent surface effect on glass, achieved by spraying metallic salts onto the surface of hot glass before it cools. The result is a lustrous, rainbow-like sheen that shifts colour in different lights. Carnival Glass — so named because it was commonly given as prizes at fairgrounds in the early twentieth century — is the most widely collected form of iridescent glass, produced in the United States, England, and Australia from around 1908 onwards.

Opalescent Glass: Glass that appears milky or translucent white in direct light but takes on a blue or lavender glow when backlit. The effect is achieved by adding bone ash or other opacifying agents to the glass batch. Opalescent glass is closely associated with the Art Nouveau movement and is a signature technique of René Lalique, whose pieces are among the most sought-after examples of the form.

Porcelain: A ceramic material fired at very high temperatures, resulting in a hard, dense, non-porous body. Unlike bone china, traditional porcelain does not contain bone ash. Hard-paste porcelain — the original European formula, developed in the early eighteenth century — is the material of Meissen, Sèvres, and Royal Copenhagen. Soft-paste porcelain, an earlier European approximation, has a slightly different texture and translucency. Both are distinct from bone china, though all three are commonly referred to as "china" in everyday use.

There is a particular kind of Australian design confidence that emerged in the late 1960s — a willingness to take the functional object seriously, to invest in form as well as utility, and to produce things that were genuinely beautiful rather than merely adequate. Crown Corning was at the centre of that moment. Their stemware and barware, designed by some of Australia's most accomplished industrial designers, brought a space-age modernism to the Australian dinner table at a time when the country was beginning to develop a genuine design identity of its own.

The Company

Crown Corning was established as a joint venture between Australian Glass Manufacturers (AGM) — the parent company of Crown Crystal Glass — and the American Corning Glass Works, one of the world's leading glass technology companies. The partnership brought Corning's advanced glass science and manufacturing expertise together with AGM's established Australian production infrastructure, creating a company capable of producing high-quality glassware at a scale and standard that had not previously been achievable in Australia.

The factory was based in Waterloo, Sydney — the same industrial heartland that had been home to Crown Crystal Glass for decades — and produced a range of domestic glassware through the late 1960s and into the 1970s. Crown Corning's output was positioned at the quality end of the Australian market: well-designed, well-made, and priced to reflect that.

Edward Kayser and the Regis Line

The most celebrated product of the Crown Corning era is the Regis stemware line, designed by Edward Kayser. Kayser was one of Australia's most significant industrial designers of the post-war period, and the Regis line represents his most enduring contribution to Australian design history.

The Regis design is immediately recognisable by its signature bubble stem — a solid, weighted glass base enclosing a perfectly centred, controlled air bubble. The bubble is not a flaw or an accident; it is a deliberate design feature, achieved through a precise manufacturing process that traps air within the molten glass as the stem is formed. The result is a stem that is both visually striking and functionally sound — the weighted base acts as a ballast, keeping the glass stable on the table.

The Regis line was produced in multiple sizes — from small 70ml port and liqueur glasses through to larger wine and water glasses — and in both clear and coloured glass. The clear Regis pieces have a particular elegance: the bubble stem reads as a design statement without competing with the colour of the wine or spirit inside. The coloured versions, produced in a range of mid-century hues, are among the most collectible examples of Australian glass design from the period.

The Australian Context

Crown Corning's production years — roughly 1969 through the mid-1970s — coincided with a significant moment in Australian social history. The 1970s were the decade when Australian wine culture began its transformation from a fortified wine tradition (port, sherry, muscat) toward the table wine culture that defines the country today. A set of Regis port glasses from this period is not just a design object; it is a piece of social history, a snapshot of the Australian dinner table at the moment of transition.

Crown Corning pieces are also significant as examples of the broader Australian glass manufacturing tradition. The AGM group — encompassing Crown Crystal, Crown Corning, and related brands — was the backbone of Australian domestic glass production for much of the twentieth century, and their output represents a specifically Australian contribution to mid-century design that is only now receiving the serious collector attention it deserves.

Collecting Crown Corning Today

Crown Corning pieces, and Regis stemware in particular, are increasingly sought after by collectors of Australian mid-century design. Complete sets in original packaging — New Old Stock — are rare and carry a significant premium. Individual pieces in excellent condition are more commonly found but still represent genuine quality.

When assessing Crown Corning glass, look for clarity and brilliance in the glass itself — there should be no clouding, glass sickness, or dishwasher hazing. On Regis pieces, check that the bubble is perfectly centred within the stem; off-centre bubbles indicate a manufacturing variation rather than a defect, but centred examples are more desirable. Examine rims carefully for chips and flea bites, which are the most common form of damage on stemware that has been in active use.

At Jacqui Fink, every Crown Corning piece we list has been assessed for glass quality, condition, and honest provenance. These are objects made with genuine design intent — and they deserve to be appreciated as such.