Duralex Prisme

The series comes in three sizes. The 22 cl tumbler is the size for water with a meal or a glass of juice, the 27.5 cl leaves room for a soft drink with a few ice cubes, and the 33 cl highball glass is the tall model that takes a gin and tonic or a cola on ice.

Alongside the clear glass there is the Marine finish, in which the 22 and 27.5 cl come in blue through-coloured glass. Those are supplied in fours, while the clear glasses come in sixes. Feel free to mix the two on the table: the same relief keeps the set looking like one whole.

Prisme is the glass you hand to children without thinking twice and the one you take outside. The relief gives grip, even with wet hands, and the thick base makes the glass hard to knock over. For a gin and tonic take the 33 cl and fill it generously with ice before the tonic goes in. A cuba libre fits the same size. Anyone using the glasses outdoors will notice that they keep cold drinks cold longer than thin glass does.

Tempered glass copes with the dishwasher and with changes in temperature, so you can pour hot water into it without it cracking. It is still glass: if it does break, it falls apart into small blunt pieces rather than sharp shards. The coloured Marine glass is through-coloured rather than lacquered, so the colour does not fade in the dishwasher and nothing can flake off. The glass does remain thick and heavy, so don't stack it too high.

If you want the same robustness in another shape, the tumbler glasses and the water glasses are sorted by size. If it was the blue finish that appealed, have a look at the coloured glasses, where you'll find more through-coloured glass. The brand's other series sit under Duralex. And if the glass really cannot break because there are bare feet around, take a look at the plastic unbreakable glasses.