About Dichroic Glass, My Cabochons and Jewelry The first thing people ask when they see my jewelry is “What kind of stone is that?” The cabs are made of multiple layers of dichroic glass forged in my kiln. People get lost in the depth of color and luminescence. Dichroic glass is a very high tech glass that has properties similar to those of camera lenses. Originally, it was a product made for space exploration. Multiple layers of metallic oxides are applied to a base glass to coat the surface to the thickness of approximately 1/40th of a sheet of paper. The oxides are applied using an electron bombarder inside a vacuum chamber. Once the coating is finished, it is fired on to the glass. The angle of the glass within the vacuum chamber determines the color. In actuality, there is no color produced. What you are seeing is pure light manipulation at it finest. The result of this process is a glass that transmits one color and reflects another with incredible life and brilliance. In 1976, some aerospace workers recognized the art potential in this glass and introduced it to the glass community...at a whopping $25.00 per square inch! Today, it’s a little better, with the sheets costing approximately $300.00 per square foot. My cabs are made by placing multiple layers of dichroic glass pieces over a base glass and firing them in the kiln to temperatures of approximately 1675 degrees. No two are ever alike. I enjoy wire wrapping the cabs, so after cooling, 14kt. gold-filled or sterling silver tempered wire is wrapped around each piece and individually designed. Because of the uniqueness of each cab, my clients get jewelry they know they will never see anywhere else. Examples of this jewelry are found on this website. Please contact me if you would like me to make some jewelry for you. For those of you who want to know EVERYTHING about Dichroic glass, there is a wonderful, comprehensive book on the subject. Oddly enough, it is called, “Dichroic Glass” and was written by Jackie Truty. More articles

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