You certainly have heard a lot about “dichroic glass jewelry” and if you have not, you will hear a lot of it in this blog.
Dichroic glass is a glass that has been coated with metal oxides.
The process of coating is highly technical…. The glass is placed in an airless vacuum chamber where quartz crystals and metal oxides are vaporized with an electron beam gun. If this process looks like coming out a sci-fi movie, this is because it has been originally created for the Aerospace industry.
The coating is very thin: 35 millionths of an inch.
It is called dichroic because it has 2 colors: a transmitted color and a reflective color which shift depending on the angle you look at it.
Dichroic glass is available in many colors and is a very fun glass. This is why you will find it often used in jewelry. Dichroic glass made for kiln work can be used alone or mixed with other glass to create stunning combinations.
On this photo, 3 sheets of dichroic glass unfired. The coating can be applied on any glass. Here on black glass with a ripple and fibroid surface.
The black spot you see on the right sheet is the place where the glass has been attached inside the vacuum chamber, thus left uncoated.
Once fired, dichroic glass is not especially fragile. But it can be damaged with repeated use with sharp or rough objects. For example, do not expect a coaster with uncapped dichroic glass to stay shinny forever under your ceramic mug. Jewelry is of course not an issue.
And because this is basically a metal coating, functional glass with dichroic should not go in the microwave, unless you want to burn down the house. Dishwasher is not recommended either.
Dichroic… I have met few people who cannot stand it. It is too shiny, too bright, too colorful. In short, it is vulgar. But if we leave those few grinches aside, most of us love dichroic. It is such an eye catching material. Who does not need more color, light and fun in their life?
As usual, so not hesitate to add a comment if you have a question.
A bientôt!!
Patricia
© 2009 – Unleash the Spirit of Glass!
