Description
Set of 8 Saint-Louis Tommy Colored Crystal Hock Wine Glasses – France, Multi-Color Roemer Stemware
This exceptional set of eight Saint-Louis Tommy colored crystal hock wine glasses combines some of the most celebrated elements of French luxury crystal: vivid overlay colors, deeply cut hand-finished crystal, and one of the most iconic stemware patterns ever produced.
The set includes a striking range of jewel-like tones consisting of ruby red, emerald green, chartreuse, cobalt blue, sky blue, and amethyst. The glasses create extraordinary visual impact together, particularly when displayed under candlelight or natural light where the deeply cut overlay crystal refracts color throughout the surrounding space.
Each glass features the legendary Tommy pattern introduced by Saint-Louis in 1928. The design combines diamond cutting, elongated bevel cuts, pearl cuts, and radiating star-cut bases into a composition that feels both architectural and highly decorative. The interplay between the colored overlay crystal and the clear cut crystal beneath gives the glasses remarkable depth and brilliance.
The set reflects the handmade nature of Saint-Louis crystal particularly well. The two ruby glasses and two green glasses were acquired at different periods, resulting in subtle tonal variations between the colors. Rather than detracting from the set, these differences enhance its individuality and demonstrate the realities of traditional hand-crafted overlay crystal production, where slight shifts in firing, cutting depth, and color layering naturally occur between production periods.
Two of the glasses were acquired after the 1994 California earthquake as replacements and still retain their original Saint-Louis labels, indicating little to no use. The remaining glasses were acquired earlier, likely during the late 1980s, and have been carefully preserved within the same family collection.
The Saint-Louis Tommy Pattern
Introduced in 1928, Tommy remains one of the most famous crystal patterns ever produced by Saint-Louis. The pattern gained international prestige after the celebrated 1938 state banquet at the Palace of Versailles honoring King George VI and Queen Elizabeth of the United Kingdom, where Tommy crystal was selected for the formal table settings.
The design is admired not only for its beauty but also for its technical complexity. Each glass combines multiple styles of cutting that interact with light differently across the surface. The lower diamond cutting creates intense brilliance, while the elongated bevel cuts carve through the overlay color to reveal the clear crystal beneath. Pearl-like cuts near the rim and stem further amplify reflection and sparkle.
Even today, Tommy crystal remains closely associated with luxury entertaining, grand interiors, and formal dining traditions.
Colored Overlay Crystal and Craftsmanship
Saint-Louis is internationally respected for its mastery of colored overlay crystal, sometimes called cased crystal. This demanding technique involves layering molten colored crystal over clear crystal before cutting through portions of the color to expose the transparent crystal below.
Ruby crystal remains especially prized because its coloration traditionally derives from gold compounds, making it one of the most difficult and expensive crystal colors to produce. Emerald, chartreuse, cobalt, sky blue, and amethyst each respond differently during firing and finishing, which explains the subtle and desirable tonal variations often found in handmade Saint-Louis crystal.
Each Tommy glass passes through numerous stages of hand craftsmanship including blowing, cutting, polishing, and finishing. The result is crystal with remarkable clarity, weight, resonance, and brilliance that machine-made stemware cannot replicate.
Condition
The glasses remain in very good vintage condition overall.
No chips, cracks, flea bites, or significant cloudiness were observed. The crystal retains excellent clarity and brilliance throughout the set. All glasses ring clearly when lightly tapped.
Two glasses still retain their original Saint-Louis labels and appear essentially unused. The remaining glasses show only light signs of careful use consistent with a well-preserved luxury crystal service.
All examples retain their acid-etched Saint-Louis France marks to the underside bases, though placement and visibility vary slightly between production periods.
