Glass As Jewellery
Introduction
Due to modern methods of mass production, we think of glass (if we think of it at all) as an everyday substance of no great interest or value. This hasn’t always been the case and glass used to be regarded as an almost mystical substance that was so expensive that only the rich could afford it.
It was inevitable that this rarity value would lead to glass being used as a ‘gemstone’ in jewellery and it’s in this ancient lineage that the present day use of glass in jewellery making has its roots.
Swarovski
It might come as a surprise to find that Swarovski crystals are a type of glass, but the word ‘crystal’ is used in the same sense as in ‘crystal vase’. The crystals can either be small, where they are often used in numbers to cover a surface, or large, where they act more like a central gemstone. Combinations of both styles are, of course, also possible. The crystals are available in almost any colour you can imagine.
Daniel Swarovski was born in Bohemia, now the Czech Republic, in 1862. His father was a glass cutter who owned a small factory and Daniel eventually served his apprenticeship under his father. By the age of 30 he had patented an electric glass cutting machine and by age 33 had joined forces with financial backers to set up a company in Wattens, Austria, to make crystal glass. The company still exists and is a major force in the fashion and jewellery world.
Murano
Murano is a place, not a type or even a style of glass. Murano is an island just over a kilometre off the coast of Venice, Italy. In 1291 the Republic of Venice became concerned that their glass makers were a fire hazard to the (mainly wooden) buildings of Venice and ordered all glass makers to move themselves and their businesses to the island of Murano.
This move, together with the skills of the craftsmen, made Murano the European ‘centre of excellence’ for glass making – a position it held unchallenged for many centuries. Murano is still a world-class glass making centre and they make all kinds of glass work there, including Millefiori.
Millefiori
Millefiori is Italian for ‘a thousand flowers’ and is a style of glass work. Before Apsley Pellat coined the term millefiori in his book ‘Curiosities of Glass Making’ in 1849, the beads were called mosaic beads. Mosaic beads date back to ancient Roman times.
The modern technique of making millefiori glass involves creating glass rods, known as murrine, that have patterns of brightly coloured glass embedded within them. You can only see the pattern when you look at the end of the rod. The rod is then heated in a furnace and stretched out, keeping the cross section with the pattern in it, until it is of the required diameter to be cut in to discs or beads. These are then shaped and processed further, if required, ready for use in jewellery making and many other Objets d’Art.
Euroglass
This is a modern term that is still not exactly defined. It’s sometimes referred to as ‘Euro-Glass’ or just ‘Euro Glass’ and is a style of glass used in jewellery making. The defining features seem to be that the glass be of a single colour, is opaque (or only slightly translucent) and have a matt or satin finish.
Euroglass is sometimes embellished by embedding other stones in its surface, such as Swarovski crystals as in our example picture.
About the Author
Paul Fernley is a partner in The Silver Jewellery Store, a UK based online retailer of sterling silver jewellery.
Creating Crystal Jewelry With Swarovski & Embellished Beadweaving di Laura McCabe | Libri perline
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