Saturday, October 16, 2010

Discovering Glass vol 6 Saphiret

The world of glass is so exciting! Previously I've tried to write about iris, givre, sabrina, moonstone glass and how I determine their age. Now I want to share my absolute favorite one: Saphiret glass.

Saphiret (or sappharine, sometimes spelled saphirett, sapphiret) is a transparent blue glass that is melted and then added gold. Gold gives a red-brown color while light brings out the blue flash. It was made in Germany and Czechoslovakia (Gablonz). Jewellery with these stones are mostly Victorian or from newer period - made in 1950-70's US costume jewellery (Kramer, Hobe, Regency, Whiting & Davis, Florenza and Weiss) or Czechoslovakia when Victorian style was back in fashion.

I've read that people believe those saphiret stones that are more red-brown have more gold added to it than the ones that are more blue. I'm not so sure. It seems to me that the brown vs blue in stone depends from the light that goes into the stone. If saphiret is foiled (or has a shiny metal setting) that reflects the light then it shows more blue. When the folio is damaged or metal setting darkened then you see more brown. Some believe that in newer versions of this glass they've used copper instead of gold.

I've also noticed that saphirets can be a bit different when comparing different jewellery. Sometimes the blue is sapphire sometimes aqua and sometimes there is a bit of purple hue in the stone. Older ones have stronger colors while newer ones are more subtle and have more different hues. You can read more from Diane DeMango, who writes about the difference of genuine saphiret and newer sappharine (saphirine) stones.

I don't know how to prove that these have gold in it, what is the right name of the stones in the jewellery I have, or who/where these were made... But the story is good. The stone is enchanting and addictive. Honestly I sometimes see it in my dreams :) If you like the glow of labradorite you sure like saphiret too!

More posts with SAPHIRET 

Victorian jewelry saphiret jewelry
Two small Victorian saphiret brooches with
faceted glass stones.

Collection of Saphiret jewelry. Here is Victorian
and newer jewelry mixed up.
 
Different glass finish techniques - faceting vs frosted.
 
Small saphiret beads with rather pale coloring.
These are newer glass - saphirine - package reads
"green saphirine". Made in Western Germany.



Klaasi-maailm on põnev! Eelnevalt olen üritanud kirjutada iris, givre, sabrina, kuukiviklaasist ning sellest, kuidas klaaskivikeste vanust arvata. Nüüd aga tahaks näidata ühte mu vaieldamatut lemmikut. See on saphiret klaas. Ega sellest rohkem informatsiooni pole leida kui teistest, ent mingid jutud ikka liiguvad :)

Saphiret (või sappharine, mõnikord kirjutatakse ka saphirett või sapphiret) klaas on sinine läbipaistev klaas, millesse on sulatamisel segatud kulda. Kuld annab klaasile punakaspruuni tooni samas, kui valgus toob välja sinise helgi. Seda valmistati Saksamaal ning Tšehhoslovakkias (Gablonz). Ehted nende kividega on tavaliselt viktoria ajastust või siis hoopis uuemad 1950-70ndate disainerehted USAst (Kramer, Hobe, Regency, Whiting&Davis, Florenza ja Weiss) või Tšehhoslovakkiast, kui viktoria-stiil oli uuesti moes.
Olen lugenud, et pruunimad kivid sisaldavat rohkem kulda kui need, mis on sinisemad. Ma pole selles sugugi kindel. Sinine värvus tuleb esile tänu valgusele ning kui saphiret'il on fooliumkiht, mis valgust tagasi peegeldab, on sinist rohkem näha. Samamoodi toimib ka läikiv metall fooliumita kivi taga. Kui aga foolium on rikutud või metall kivi taga oksüdeerunud valgust neelavaks, paistab kivi olevat rohkem pruunim. On ka spekuleeritud, et uuemates selle klaasi versioonides on kasutatud kulla asemel vaske.
Samas tundub mulle, et viktoria-aegsete ehete kivid on pisut teistmoodi kui uuema aja omad. Vahel on sinine värv safiir, vahel aqua ning vahel on lausa pisut lillat tooni kivides märgata. Samuti tundub, et vanematel kividel on värvid kirkamad samas, kui uuematel on õrnemad toonid. Täpsemalt on kirjutanud Diane DeMango, kuidas tema teeb vahet vanema saphiret kivi ning uuema sappharine (saphirine) vahel SIIN.

Ma ei tea, kuidas tõestada kulla sisaldust, mis on selle kivi õige nimetus või kes/kus seda täpselt valmistasid... Aga stoori on hea. Ning kivi on lummav ja sõltuvust tekitav, ausõna, olen näinud neid isegi unes :) Pidevalt pean jälgima neid interneti poodides või oksjonitelt ning kui neid ei leia, siis pean netist üles otsima. Kui sulle meeldib labradoriidi läige, siis kindlasti ka saphiret klaas!

5 comments:

sharon said...

Your jewelry is exquisite!! Absolutely gorgeous! I found you thru my sweet friend Esther!

Katrin mdmB said...

Thank you, Sharon!

Anonymous said...

Especially informative & well written Blog. I thank-you so very much for caring to take time to write this fine article, as well as directing to the link (while I was shopping @ your Etsy Shop) to find it. I like that you mentioned that " If you like the glow of Labordorite you sure like Saphirets too!" THIS remark is so very TRUE!!! Before I learned of Saphirets & Saphirenes (only 2 months ago), for decades, I was a collector of both Madagascar Labordorite & the high quality Scandinavian/ Finnish variety of Labordorite... the ULTRA-Rare Feldspar Spectrolite...which is a bit more costly than Labordorite BUT possesses deeper & more VIBRANT hues, & brilliant flashes iridescent colors (usually blue, green, Violet, Amber & yellow). Should you wish to read more, here is an informative link: http://www.gemselect.com/other-info/spectrolite-labradorite.php

Katrin mdmB said...

Thanks. I think I have a piece of spectrolite from Finland. It's not a bead but just a piece of rock and before it can be used must be cut and polished. One side is black, other one has yellow, orange to green flashes.

Anonymous said...

I learned something new reading your article. It was extremely helpful that you mentioned the names of the jewelry houses that used saphiret in their jewelry. I will most likely be able to identify my brooch with your helpful information.Thank you! Sasha~SawDust FINERY
Www.sawdustfinery.com