Unique Crystal Awards: What Vendors Don’t Want You to Know

If you do a quick online search for “unique crystal awards”, you’ll make a surprising discovery. The search will turn up endless galleries featuring crystal designs. But very few of those designs would probably fit the definition of what you—and most other people—would have in mind for the word “unique”.

The sad fact is that these designs bring to mind instead words like “unorginal”, “generic”, “prefab”, and, perhaps most of all, “lookalike”.

In other words, these “unique” crystal awards are actually anything but unique.

So why do many vendors try to pass off their tired menu of interchangeable crystal pieces as somehow being one-of-a-kind?

The Hidden Agenda of Most Crystal Vendors

There are two reasons most crystal vendors are deceptive on this point.

The first involves their business model.

Most crystal vendors have a simple strategy. They buy huge amounts of mass-produced, generic pieces that arrive in bulk via containers at their warehouses.

Once off-loaded at the warehouse, these pieces sit side-by-side with other dusty veterans until the vendor can unload them and begin to recoup their considerable upfront investment.

The second reason stems directly from the first. These vendors have conveniently re-defined the word “unique“. They argue that, yes, their crystal designs are unique—for the simple reason that they will (eventually) have “your” award text engraved on them.

But does that really make sense?

So when, five minutes later that same crystal piece is grabbed off the same shelf and engraved with some other organization’s award information, that award will also be…”unique”?

Do you really transform a cookie-cutter design—designs so entrenched that they have product numbers—simply by engraving several lines of text?

Unique Crystal Awards: The Truth about Crystal’s Capabilities

Most crystal companies want you to believe two things.

First, they’d like to convince you that their preset menu of canned designs somehow offers something unique.

More importantly, they want you to believe that this same line-up of familiar designs defines the entire spectrum of unique crystal awards.

What they absolutely don’t want you to know is that there’s an alternative to their slate of stale, copycat designs.

In fact, crystal offers an almost infinite number of design possibilities.

This post will help dispel 5 of the most common myths about unique crystal awards that most vendors are pushing.

“Unique” Crystal Awards: 5 Myths Most Vendors Push

Myth # 1: Crystal awards only come in a limited number of shapes: take it or leave it.

Don’t get us wrong. We regularly provide clients with crystal awards in standard, geometric shapes. These kinds of classic shapes can be very effective and have considerable perceived value.

But what we don’t do is try to convince those clients (and others) that these conventional award shapes and designs and the only shapes available to them.

In fact, as shown in the small sampling in the gallery below, unique crystal awards can produced in a range of shapes.

A crystal award could, for instance, follow the shape of your logo or product. Or it could follow the contours of a geographic area, such as a state or country.

Again, most crystal vendors have a vested interest in pushing (and getting off their factory shelves) their line of pre-made pieces. The less you know about crystal’s potential for capturing shapes, the easier it is for them to push their limited line.

Myth #2: Crystal awards only come in a limited number of predetermined sizes.

This is related to myth #1. Want to tailor your design slightly —maybe make a piece slightly taller, wider, or thicker? With the vast majority of crystal vendors, you’ll hear emphatically that a certain design “doesn’t come in that size”. If you want your piece to be, say, 6 1/2″ inches high and they only offer it at 6″ and 8″‘, you’re out of luck.

Myth #3: You can’t place items or artwork inside crystal.

This myth is partially true. You can’t place solid objects inside crystal. But that’s not the full story.

Remember that most crystal companies have a warehouse full of pieces already made.

What they want you to do is buy their pre-made pieces and have something engraved (or printed) onto them. The option of involving the inside of a crystal piece is something they’re not eager to share.

But in fact, there is a process to creating unique crystal awards, that can laser engrave artwork within the piece itself. 3D laser etching is a technique that can render detailed artwork involving, for instance, products or buildings (see example below) with striking precision. Once again, the less you know about design options like this, the easier it is for many crystal vendors to push their limited array of designs.

Myth #4: Crystal comes in only one color: clear

Some crystal vendors might show a limited number of jade crystal pieces (with a green tint) but for the most part their line-up consists of clear designs. Here again, we regularly provide clear pieces of this sort. The play of light in and around clear crystal can make for especially dramatic effects.

But what most crystal companies don’t want you to know is that clear crystal isn’t your only option. (See the gallery below for examples).

Crystal awards can actually be tailored to a broad spectrum of colors. But once again, if you’re locked into an inflexible menu of designs, this isn’t something you want your customers to know.

Myth #5: Ordering a custom piece will take forever/cost a fortune/jeopardize your deadline.

This myth is an all-purpose catch-all of potential problems and headaches. It will take you months to get a custom crystal piece. And you’re going to have to order hundreds of them. And maybe worst of all, you’re going to have to spend a lot of time coming up with design ideas and overseeing and tweaking them over countless iterations.

Getting a custom crystal award, one that is truly unique to your company or organization doesn’t necessarily involve these pitfalls. You can get small-batch quantities of a truly unique award design, and within several weeks and at competitive prices. And perhaps most importantly, you don’t have to assume the burden of creative duties in the process.

Unique Crystal Awards at The Corporate Presence

Yes, there are a number of crystal vendors that could potentially provide you with satisfactory awards. But if your goal is to provide recipients with truly “unique crystal awards”, something that not only reflects but furthers your organization’s brand, you need to look beyond the limited offerings of most vendors.

At The Corporate Presence, we’ve been designing and producing crystal awards for over 40 years. We have the experience and expertise to provide you with a range of creative options—and a full range of creative options. Whether you’re looking for a conventional award design, or something more customized, reach out to us and get the process started.