Dating Orrefors Ariel Glass Pieces
Below you will find the information on the date codes and coding system used by Orrefors for Ariel glass pieces from 1937 until 1982. From 1982 all pieces were signed “Gallery” together with a model number and generally the amount of pieces produced, for example 13/60 which means that this is number 13 out of 60 pieces produced. Almost all famous artists such as Edvin Ohrstrom, Edvard Hald, Vicke Lindstrand, Ingeborg Lundin, Olle Alberius, Lars Hellsten, etc. have worked in the Ariel technique.
The Ariel pieces were generally signed by hand using a diamond pen. The signature usually consists of the following parts:
1. The name “Orrefors”, sometimes with “Sweden” or “Suède” added.
2. The technique used: “Ariel”
3. The serial number or date code.
4. Sometimes the year it was made. After 1950 the year was replaced with a letter that was added to the model number.
5. The name of the designer.
In order to determine when your Orrefors Ariel glass piece was made, look for the seriel number / date code with which your Orrefors Ariel piece is signed in the table below. On the left side you can see the year in which it was made.
1937 – 1 to 74
1938 – 75 to 90
1939 – 91 to 219
1940 – 220 to 230
1941 – 231 to 238
1942 – 239 to 353
1943 – 253 to 271
1944 – 272 to 319
1945 – 320 to 349
1946 – 350 to 391
1947 – 392 to 427
1948 – 428 to 568
1949 – 569 to 865
1950 – 51 B to 52 B and 53 E to 832 E
1951 – 833 E to 1450 E
1952 – 1451 E to 1755 E
1953 – 1756 E to 2022 E
1954 – 2023 E to 2203 E
1955 – 50 F to 242 F
1956 – 243 F to 408 F
1957 – 409 F to 572 F
1958 – 100 G to 226 G
1959 – 100 H to 267 H
1960 – 268 H to 711 H
1961 – 100 K to 653 K
1962 – 101 L to 616 L
1963 – 100 M to 656 M
1964 – 101 N to 790 N
1965 – 100 O to 968 O
1966 – 100 P to 103 P and 104 A to 852 A
1967 – 100 B to 679 B
1968 – 100 C to 537 C
1969 – 100 D to 571 D
1970 – 100 E to 636 E
1971 – 101 F to 686 F
1972 – 100 G to 653 G
1973 – 100 E3 to 665 E3
1974 – 101 E4 to 650 E4
1975 – 100 E5 to 640 E5
1976 – 100 E6 to 605 E6
1977 – 100 E7 to 653 E7
1978 – 100 E8 to 538 E8
1979 – 100 E9 to 385 E9
1980 – 500 F1 to 621 F1
1981 – 500 F2 to 563 F3
1982 – Only Gallery Pieces