What are glass awards?

Glass awards (also see glass trophies) are premium recognition pieces made from ultra clear glass that is engraved and personalized. Crystal and glass awards are considered the gold standard in the world of recognition awards, and are often used to celebrate exceptional accomplishments, important milestones, and special people.

Glass has captured people’s imaginations for centuries. People love to hold glass and to feel its solid weight and its smooth and polished surfaces. Glass is synonymous with excellence and clarity, and is also perceived as luxurious, valuable and desirable. It’s no surprise that organizations love presenting glass awards, because people love receiving them! A well made glass award will sparkle for a lifetime - a shining reminder of feeling recognized, appreciated, and celebrated.

Glass awards can elevate the stature of a recognition event or program. When people witness glass awards being presented, it adds a sense of excitement and importance to the event, raising the prestige of both the recipient and the presenter. And when recipients see their own name engraved permanently in the glass, it immediately communicates that the award is unique and thoughtfully made, which amplifies the message of recognition and appreciation. Those who receive personalized awards engraved with their name consider their trophy to be priceless!

Eclipse Awards offers both customized and personalized glass awards, in addition to recycled glass awards.

Examples of custom glass awards that we’ve made:

New Horizon Glass Award

High Profile Glass Wall Plaque

Apprentice Glass Award

What are customized glass awards?

Custom glass awards are one-of-a-kind glass trophies designed especially for an organization’s event or recognition program. In addition to personalization details, custom awards are “made to order” because they also require a special shape, marking, or material.

Making bespoke or custom glass awards typically involves a design process to determine the shape and specifications of the award, followed by a manufacturing period where glass is hand-cut to shape, polished, assembled, then engraved and personalized to create your brilliant, one of a kind custom glass awards. The whole process can take anywhere between 4-12 weeks depending on the complexity of the design and whether any trophy award prototypes are required.

Approximately 20% of the orders we produce are custom glass awards. Done well (and we make some beauties!), bespoke glass awards can be unique, impressive and memorable. Successful custom projects start with a clear vision, budget and timeline. However, keep in mind that making custom glass awards typically costs a bit more and takes a bit longer than using prefab glass awards, and we can often achieve similar results by personalizing our prefab glass awards.

If you have a custom glass award project in mind, learn more about ordering custom trophies here.

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What are personalized glass awards?

Personalized glass awards are made using ready-to-go, prefab glass “blanks” that are engraved with your unique text and artwork to create one of a kind glass awards. Ordering personalized glass awards can reduce lead times by up to 80%, and reduce costs by as much as 50% when compared to ordering custom glass awards.

Our catalog includes timeless and popular award styles that can be personalized for any occasion. We carry these on hand and ready to go until your order arrives. Then make them special for you through custom graphic design and elegant sandblast engraving. This way, more of your money goes into the quality and craftsmanship of your glass awards, and less into developing novel custom award designs and prototypes.

80% of the glass awards we produce are personalized (as opposed to customized) because they offer great value. By personalizing prefab awards with great custom design and engraving, we provide an efficient, streamlined, and cost effective approach to producing awesome personalized glass awards, every time!

To learn more about customized awards vs personalized trophies, click here.

Here are 3 glass award styles that you can order now:

Glass Achievement Award

The Achievement Award is popular and economical on account of its simple, versatile shape. This award plaque consists of a sheet of Starfire glass supported by a polished aluminum base.

Black Glass Wall Plaque

Looking for a modern award plaque? Look no further than Black Glass Plaques! These eye-catching glass wall plaques are available in either landscape or portrait format

Sunrise Glass Award

The Sunrise Award recognizes accomplishment with an eye towards continued success each new day. The award consists of a half circle that is curved slightly to allow it to stand freely.

Where to order glass awards online?

As many trophy stores and retail showrooms are closed indefinitely due to the pandemic, it makes sense to order your glass trophies online. Forget searching for a "trophy place near me" because it doesn’t matter if you’re in Toronto, Dallas, Edmonton, Detroit, Bellingham, San Francisco or Calgary...online trophy shops like Eclipse Awards offer a web catalog of unique glass awards and plaques that you can order from your desk, including personalization, and delivered within 2 weeks!

*Pro-tip: To ensure higher quality and faster lead times, choose a glass awards supplier that does all of their design and sandblast engraving in-house.

How much do glass awards cost?

Glass awards cost between $60 to $250 each, with options at every price point. Cost is mostly determined by size, shape, and quality of glass. Eclipse Awards offers glass awards at fixed, all-in prices that include design, artwork proofs, personalization and engraving. With no setup charges or hidden fees, you can order with confidence knowing the price you see is the price you will pay!

Custom glass awards with uniquely designed shapes and sizes can be produced upon request. For customized glass awards, other factors that may affect cost are:

number of awards needed
shape, size and color requirements
type of marking used for personalization (sandblast engraving or UV printing)
the style of presentation box, if needed
your budget and the lead time you have available

Pro tip! Ordering “off-the-shelf” from our catalog is the fastest and most cost effective way to produce personalized glass recognition awards because much of the award design has already been done. We simply create custom artwork for you and then sandblast engrave it to produce beautiful glass awards, branded and personalized exactly as you wish.

As well, consider these points before ordering fully customized glass awards:

Some companies may charge a design fee to design your custom award, so that is important to clarify before your project gets underway.
Developing new custom award designs may require investing in molds and/or prototypes to ensure the final pieces will be stable and well balanced, which can add to the overall cost and timeline.
Your custom glass awards will be one of a kind, so you may want to order a few extra pieces to have on hand, in case you ever need more on short notice.

Glass awards can be awesome and impressive without breaking the bank, as long as you can have some flexibility in your vision.

Ready to make your awards a reality? Browse our catalog of popular glass awards, choose your favorites, then let’s get your project underway!

How to order glass awards

If you’re preparing to order bespoke glass awards from an online supplier, consider these points as you’re getting underway:

Who are you recognizing and how many glass awards will you be presenting?
1. Will all awards be the same size and style?
2. Different recognition levels may require different glass awards
When do you need your awards delivered by?
1. Different suppliers offer different lead times, so be sure to plan accordingly to keep costs low. Eclipse Awards' lead time is 10 business days, which means if you order before 10am PST on Monday morning, your completed order will be delivered by end of day the following Friday. The more time you can provide however, the better.
What to include on your awards.
1. Need help with ideas and wordings suggestions for your glass awards? Download our free Award Design Guide pdf.
2. If your personalization details and logo files are ready, upload them when placing your order online.
3. If you don’t have your personalization details or logo ready, you can still place your order and our team will help you craft the perfect message and graphics for your awards order!

Ordering personalized glass awards is as simple as gathering a few details and then selecting the awards you’d like to personalize. There are 3 ways to get your order underway:

Online at www.eclipseawards.com. Add the glass trophies you want to personalize to your cart and let us know when you’d like them delivered by. Upload your personalization details during the checkout process, or provide them at a later time if you don’t have them ready yet.
Email your order details to orders @ eclipseawards.com and send what you have available. Your dedicated service representative will follow up to gather any remaining details.
Phone us at 888-294-7121 with your order details, and speak to real people who are here to help you and answer any questions.

However you choose to order from us, the first thing you will receive is an email order confirmation that summarizes your order and timeline. Then we begin a design process to create the custom artwork for your trophies, which we email you as a digital artwork proof (pdf).

Review your artwork proof closely for grammar, spelling, punctuation and important details. Then you can either approve it if everything looks good, or request changes. You can request unlimited design revisions at no charge, until you approve the artwork proof. We cannot start engraving your awards until you have approved your artwork!

Once you have approved your artwork, no further changes are possible because we start production immediately. We then engrave your glass awards, clean them, inspect them, then safely pack them for shipping. We let you know once your order has shipped out.

Throughout the whole order process, we keep you in the loop with a series of email order updates that let you know where we are in the whole process. Of course you’re free to check in on the status of your order anytime!

Choosing a glass awards supplier

When selecting an online glass awards supplier to work with, ask a few of these questions to help you choose a good supplier partner:

How long have you been in business?
A couple of years may mean the company is eager, yet inexperienced. 10 years or more and you know they are probably pretty great at what they do to have survived that long.
Do you produce your trophies and awards in-house?
Some companies outsource all design and production. Others do design and production in-house, which typically means better quality control
Do you have any setup charges or design charges?
Be aware of any hidden fees or add on-costs
What guarantees do you provide?
Safe and on-time delivery guarantees are important. So is quality and workmanship.
Do you provide artwork proofs with every order?
Some companies don’t provide artwork proofs, or may charge for them. Some may charge you to make design changes or updates.
How do you contribute to the community or environment?
Support the companies you believe in that share your values!

Asking a few of these questions will help you select a great glass awards maker that will be both a good supplier and reliable partner.

As well, consider these points when choosing a supplier to make your glass award plaques:

Some companies may charge a design fee to design your custom trophy, while others offer free engraving, no setup charges and no minimum orders. Clarify these before your project gets underway.
Developing new custom trophy designs may require investing in molds and/or prototypes to ensure the final pieces will be stable and well balanced, which can add to the overall cost and timeline.
If your glass awards are one of a kind, you may want to produce a few extra pieces to have on hand, just in case you ever need more on short notice.

When to present glass awards?

Present glass awards whenever you want to mark a very special occasion or accomplishment with a lasting tribute. Using glass awards at your event captures people’s attention and helps create a sense that something special and important is happening. In turn, this amplifies the message of recognition and appreciation intended by the award.

Personalized glass recognition awards can be used for any of the following occasions or programs:

Employee recognition awards
Years of service awards
Top sales awards
Safety awards
Corporate product launch
Board gifts
Sports trophies
Teamwork awards

Retirement gifts
New stock issues
Real estate transactions
Attaining fundraising goals
Years of service awards
Volunteer awards
Donor recognition
Exemplary leadership

Art glass awards can be personalized for virtually any event, accomplishment, milestone, or occasion. Have a glass award design idea you’d like to explore? Get in touch, we’re happy to help!

What to write on a glass award?

Once you’ve selected the glass awards you’d like to order, it’s time to think about how to personalize them and what to write on them. When considering what to put on a glass award, keep these tips in mind:

Keep it simple. The glass award itself elevates and amplifies your message of recognition, so you don’t need a lot of wording. If you have a lot to say, write it on a card or express it when presenting the award.
Add their name. Engraving a person’s name onto their glass award makes it so much more meaningful. It shows your intention to make something special, just for them. Personalized awards are priceless!
Include an image or logo. Adding a graphic element to your award design can really help balance the layout. Also, logos help with branding your awards, which can provide years of marketing exposure over the life of the award.
Consider a date. Adding a date on your award helps to add context. Glass awards last for decades, so dates are a nice reminder of a certain time.

Remember: there are no rules when it comes to designing glass award plaques. Just be sure they convey your message of gratitude and appreciation.

If you’re looking for more design ideas, phrases, or wording suggestions for your glass awards, be sure to download our free Award Design Guide here.

Pro Tip - you can order your glass awards before you have the wording and personalization details finalized. Our team can help craft the perfect message and design for your glass awards!

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Glass Awards by Eclipse Awards - Why choose use?

Since 1998, Eclipse Awards has specialized in making glass trophies, awards and plaques that celebrate the human spirit. Over the past 20 years we’ve created thousands and thousands of customized and personalized glass awards that people absolutely love! Our designers know how to make glass awards look fantastic, and our experienced team of artisans includes master sandcarvers who bring glass awards to life with fine engraving. We deliver value by creating one of a kind, individually personalized glass awards that you can use to recognize, uplift, empower and engage people in your community. We only offer popular and time-tested glass award styles so that you can order from us confidently, knowing that your glass awards will be made to the highest standards, with care, attention to detail, and a dash of magic that will make each of your glass awards sparkle and shine!

Find out why many of the world’s most successful organizations choose Eclipse Awards to make their personalized glass recognition awards!