Hi This auction of for a quarter pound of the Rare soft glass French Moonstone DENIM BLUE Glass Rods 104 coe. I bought these rods a couple of years ago from a supplier who had found them hidden in a warehouse in France. They had been sitting in their warehouse since the 1950s. There was only limited quanities of it in each of the colors and all the colors except one sold out within a few months. I have made spacers and larger beads on mandrels with this color.The DENIM BLUE has opal-like effect in a very pretty BLUE. I have used it with the other soft glass brands and they worked well. I work it in a low flame and have no problems. I have looked up the history of it and have found that opalescent glass is very rare.I ONLY HAVE A LIMITED AMOUNT.
In trying to find out who made it and where did it come from, here is what I have found. I personally think that its alot older. I know that when it did come out on the market, it was hot and was bought up quickly.Here are some cool glass tidbits history that I have found about this glass:
"The opalescent colour is produced by the slower cooling of the molten glass in those parts which are thick, causing some crystallization inside the glass.
These hand blown opalescent pieces from the art nouveau period are also highly valued, highly priced, and difficult to find today.
Returning to the French style of opalescent glass, Rene Lalique, like Emile Galle and Louis Comfort Tiffany, was a jeweler and designer before he turned to glass.
His aim as a glass maker was to produce high quality glass using industrial techniques and some mass production. " A. Bowey
"Opalescent glass is a generalized term for clear and semi-opaque pressed glass, cloudy, marbled, and sometimes accented with subtle coloring all combining to form a milky opalescence in the glass. While René Lalique may be recognized by most as the pinnacle of opalescent glassmaking, stained glass first evolved in the late 1800's and early 1900's during the Art Nouveau period when American glassmakers transformed European stained glass used in cathedrals into the translucent milky glass we now refer to as opalescent. John LaFarge and Louis Comfort Tiffany were two American artists who first experimented with opalescent effects, driven by their desire to use glass in creating beautiful visual scenes in art without painting. Opalescent glass was first developed and patented by John Lafarge in 1879, but it was Tiffany who created the masterworks in glass for which he is still so well known today. Tiffany created totally new colors in glass, new types of glass unparalleled in depth and coloration, and used glass in new forms that evoked the forms of nature.
The opalescent effect is a glassmaking technique used by many manufacturers to greater or lesser degrees of artistry, produced in the cooling process which creates the milky opalescent effect which illuminates any coloration when light shines on it. Sometimes the opalescent effect was created along the edge of a piece, often coupled with wavy effects and making for an elegant yet subtle look. This opalescence is also created in the glassmaking by alternating heating and cooling of the glass and with the addition of chemical additives to create the desired effect. Many U.S. manufacturers made this type of opalescent glass, most notably Fenton, Northwood, Hobbs, and American Glass, while Davidson's was the major European manufacturer based in the U.K. and giving their wares the marketing name of Pearline. There is also a type of opalescent glass which is made in layers, and again the heating and re-heating process is used to create the opalescent effect with the addition of chemical agents. The degree and location of the opalescence is controlled as such by the glassmaking process, and by the thickness of the glass itself as it forms itself in the molds.
Given the intricacy of some of the designs, the production of the metal molds in sufficient detail was an important part of the process. Many of the molds for French opalescent glass of the Art Deco period were done by Franckhauser, who did work for Sabino and other contemporaries of Lalique. Most of the finer glass of this period was done by the French, but the English firm of James J. Jobling also created some innovative designs after having earlier sought to sign distribution deals with some of the major French factories. Today, few glassmakers still make opalescent glass primarily due to the chemicals needed to execute the complex glassmaking process." -Schiffer
"Moonstone was an icy, silvery glass. Louis Tiffany's floral elaborations in crystal and his Favrile-metallic lustered and iridescent-are famous." -oldandsold
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