Sometimes called antique cymbals, a percussion instrument consisting of small, tuned bronze or brass discs. Each is about 10 cm in diameter with a flat top surface and a nipple on the base. They are commonly played by being struck with hard mallets. However, they may also be played by striking two discs together in the same manner as finger cymbals, or by bowing. Their sound is rather like a small tuned bell, only with a much brighter sound and a much longer resonance. Like tuned finger cymbals, crotales are thicker and larger; they also have slight grooves in them which give their sound more sparkle..

Modern crotales are arranged chromatically and have a range of up to 2 octaves. They are typically available in sets (commonly one octave) but may also be purchased individually.