Colored glasses

The key distinction is not the shade but the way the colour gets into the glass. In glass coloured through the body, the pigment sits in the glass mass itself, melted in the furnace. In coated glass there is a thin layer on the outside, and such a layer can scratch or go dull. The series on this page are coloured through, so the shade stays exactly as it is.

Then look at size and use. A Duralex Picardie of 25 cl is a classic everyday water glass, a 35 cl tumbler has room for ice and suits a long drink, and coloured long drink glasses of around 35 cl keep a gin and tonic with tonic and ice cubes comfortably below the rim. If you want to mix, shades from the same family combine more calmly than separate bright colours side by side. Assorted sets take that decision off your hands and give you six different shades at once.

On the table, coloured glass works best as an accent. Put one colour next to clear glassware and the eye finds rest; put everything in colour and the table becomes restless. In daylight the lighter shades show at their best, while deep shades gain depth by candlelight.

For cocktails the choice of colour is also a matter of content. A blue drink disappears in a blue glass, while the same Blue Lagoon stands out in clear or lightly tinted glass. The other way round, an amber glass makes a colourless drink look warmer. The same goes for pink cocktails: pick a shade that complements the drink rather than drowning it out. If you are straining from a cocktail shaker, strain carefully, because ice shards show up less in coloured glass yet still change the drink. Bear in mind, too, that a deeply tinted glass makes the fill level harder to see. With dark shades, pour a little more deliberately, or use a jigger, so every glass on the table gets the same amount.

Coloured glass asks no more care than clear glass, as long as it is coloured through. Every series here is dishwasher safe. Do not wedge them tightly against each other in the rack, because glasses knocking together eventually cause small chips along the rim, which are more visible in coloured glass than in clear.

Tempered glass, such as the French tumblers, is clearly more impact resistant than ordinary soda-lime glass and therefore sensible around children or outdoors on the terrace. Coloured crystal glass is thinner and finer at the rim and belongs on a laid table indoors. If a glass takes on a dull haze after long dishwasher use, that is almost always limescale and not loss of colour; washing it once by hand in water with a little vinegar takes it off.

If you would rather have clear glassware in the same shape, look at the tumblers. Anyone after the French, slightly nostalgic look with relief in the glass will find it at La Rochère. If the mood of old glass matters more to you than colour, the vintage glasses section is the logical next step. And if you landed here because you were specifically after coloured long drink glasses, the long drink glasses give you the full overview in that shape, coloured and clear side by side.