Premium Gabriel-Glas Gold Edition Hand-Blown Crystal Wine Glasses - 16oz Set of 2 with Gift Box - Universal Wine Glass for Red & White - Dishwasher Safe & Lead-Free - Perfect for Fine Dining, Wine Tasting & Gifts

2 days ago I received one Gold Edition of this Gabriel Glas Wine glass. One hour ago I received a 2 pack of the Stand Art edition of this same glass. Here is what I found. First of all, I have never experienced a higher end wine glass before and although I have been buying higher end wine for a few years now, I never knew about the higher end wine glass's until I watched a vid on youtube earlier this week that was by a Sommelier who was blind tasting wine and then blind tasting wine glass's to see which brought out the best quality of the wines. One of the glass's he liked a lot was by Gabriel Glas but I doubt it was the Gold Edition.So my Gold edition arrived and I gingerly took it out of the box. Who wants to break a 70 dollar, hand blown wine glass taking it out of the packaging. My first impression? Wow....what a delicate and lightweight wine glass. Upon further experience, I realized I was holding a wonderful piece of art. It felt so wonderful in the hand. Beautiful, clear glass with the most refinery thin and delicate drinking rim and stem. Everything I expected this glass to be............it was. I haven't poured any wine into it yet so I can't give you the nuance of the tasting of wine in this glass. Frankly, I don't care. This is a great wine glass. Others have shared their experiences and I know the tasting in these glass's is going to be great. Now onto the Stand Art version of this same glass.One hour ago I received a pair of Gabriel Gas Stand Art wine glass's that are half the price of the Gold Edition. This glass is are machine made rather than hand blown, but I was thinking: This glass will also be great and probably be fairly close to the quality of the Gold edition. I was wrong in that assumption. Here is what I found: First impression was "Nothing Special". The stem was thick compared to the Gold Edition and the Glass was heavier than I thought it was going to feel. Yes, it is 2 oz heavier, but not only did it feel heavy, it also felt somewhat clunky compared to the Gold edition. There was no Soul or nuance in the Stand Art glass. For me, the glass did not feel special at all in the hand and this really surprised me because 32 dollars is still a lot of money for one wine glass. I thought it would feel better than it did. The second surprise was the color. The Stand Art Glass has a slight grey tint to it which the Gold edition does not have. The Gold edition is clear. So if you are looking at the color of a wine, then the slightly grey color of the Stand Art glass is going to hurt the color clarity of the wine if that means something to you. It means something to me.Final impression: All in all, I would not buy any more of the Stand Art editions and would spend the extra money for the Gold edition. Yes, it is expensive, but if you are going to offer a great wine experience to your friends with higher end wine's, go for the Gold Edition and say a silent prayer before each meal that somehow your glass's don't get broken. Hand wash for sure, but not when you are tired after a long meal. When washing, hold the stem at the top near the bowl. If you hold the stem in the middle while washing, you might break the stem. It is very, very delicate.....but thats what makes this glass great. Just be careful. Set them aside and wash in the morning when you can delicately wash your very beautiful and delicate works of art with focus and awareness.. Maybe you will be the only one who understands the beauty of this glass. If that's the case, buy one and put out the Wine glass's from Target for all the other's. Cheers!!