The beautiful amethyst or lavender color of this glass is a result of a curious chemical reaction among certain compounds used in
the manufacture of glass.The natural color resulting from the basic ingredients of glass,sand,soda,and lime,is varying shades of
aqua,or green.Merchants of the mid 19th recognized the value of being able to display their products in clear glass vessels,so a
compound,called manganese,was added to batches of raw glass at the factories,the result being the finished product of a crystal
clear container!!. A side effect of the clarified glass with manganese is the ability to change into a brilliant dark amethyst when
exposed to ultra violet rays over a period of time.Most of the manganese used in glass factories came from Germany,WW1 broke out
in 1914, it became much harder to obtain manganese. Other oxide decolorizers were then used instead, so most bottles made after
1918 or so don’t turn amethyst.
This glass has been purpled by a process called “irradiation”, which is a safe and permanent process which does the same thing as
many years of exposure to natural sunlight, except much faster.Those of you who live in high sun areas,such as the Western
American Desert,may have noticed dark purple shards around old ghost towns,or house sites.Compare these bottles to the shards
and you will see an identical result.Real Desert Glass is hard,if not impossible to find anymore.
the manufacture of glass.The natural color resulting from the basic ingredients of glass,sand,soda,and lime,is varying shades of
aqua,or green.Merchants of the mid 19th recognized the value of being able to display their products in clear glass vessels,so a
compound,called manganese,was added to batches of raw glass at the factories,the result being the finished product of a crystal
clear container!!. A side effect of the clarified glass with manganese is the ability to change into a brilliant dark amethyst when
exposed to ultra violet rays over a period of time.Most of the manganese used in glass factories came from Germany,WW1 broke out
in 1914, it became much harder to obtain manganese. Other oxide decolorizers were then used instead, so most bottles made after
1918 or so don’t turn amethyst.
This glass has been purpled by a process called “irradiation”, which is a safe and permanent process which does the same thing as
many years of exposure to natural sunlight, except much faster.Those of you who live in high sun areas,such as the Western
American Desert,may have noticed dark purple shards around old ghost towns,or house sites.Compare these bottles to the shards
and you will see an identical result.Real Desert Glass is hard,if not impossible to find anymore.
