Pewter of the Bronze Age in the Near East. The earliest piece of pewter found is from an Egyptian tomb from 1450 BC. The constituents of pewter were first controlled in the 12th century by town guilds in France. By the 15th century, the Worshipful Company of Pewterers controlled pewter constituents in England. This company originally had two grades of pewter, but in the 16th century a third grade was added. The first type, known as "fine metal", was used for tableware. It consisted of tin with as much copper as it could absorb, which is about 1%. The second type,
Ajka Crystal Ajka Crystal Ajka Crystal is a Hungarian crystal manufacturer. Created in 1878 by Bernard Neumann. The company, one of the biggest in Central Europe produces unique, handmade pieces of glass art. Ajka Crystal also goes under the name of "The Romanov Collection" in the United States. Ajka Crystal ships 90% of the factory's total production - both in tableware (stemware, tumblers etc...) and in giftware (vases, bowls) is exported for world-famous brands such as Wedgwood, Tiffany's, Rosenthal, Waterford Crystal, Polo Ralph Lauren, Christian Dior, Moser and other high end French Crystal Manufacturers. Ajka Crystal is located in Ajka, Hungary. Ajka