Quality

What's the best way to tell quality glass?
My dad has a vase that was made professionally by a company that worked with his that retailed for $600 but they gave it to him because it had a tiny flaw. It's gorgeous, but I've seen a lot of handblown pipes that the glass work seemed just as good, is there a way to tell if what you are buying is made by someone who knows what they are doing?

for one... if you bought it at a gas station, its probably china. i can tell a china pipe from a mile away. dull color, bubbles, when you push inside the bowl it feels like it flexes. means your holes gonna chip when you toothpick it. look where the flat spot is on the bottom. most artist will flame polish after pressing. its an easy step that makes it look alot better. china skips that step. same goes for inside the bowl. look for ripples. no flame polishing = china or amateur.
also if they have multiple exact same cheap pipes they are china

Since for a very long time my work sucked, I've learned what to look for. Unfinished or ugly mouthpieces indicate the glass guru is real new to shaping tube, bad welds/seams/joints indicate the blower isnt working the glass enough to prevent cracks, bubbles in line work indicate poor linework or using incompatible colors, etc....

One thing that is neat is that the super heady pieces you see selling for a lot of $$$$$$ are usually also not more than 1mm thick in any area. It takes skill and talent to make a piece structurally sound enough to resist breakage over time, and that's something that still I'm working on today.............

I'm very happy with the bubbler I have now, I friggin love the thing. It's sturdy, looks nice, and it's served me well for a long time. At one time I had a spoon that I got at a head shop that literally felt like it was half a mm thick. Needless to say it didn't last long. I just didn't know if there was like some special way to tell or not, I'm not really looking to buy a piece but at the same time figured knowledge is always good.