Glass / History of Glass

The most commonly used component of glass is silica, an element that is abundant in the Earth's crust (30% by mass). During the formation of our planet, rocks containing a high percentage of silica were melted and cooled rapidly under the hostile conditions of the environment (volcanic eruptions, lighting strikes), thus natural glass was made such as obsidian. Man-made glass was first produced about 4000 years ago and it was used mainly for jewellery. Then, glass couldn't be obtained in a pure/homogenous form and lacked transparency.

Glass continued to spread around the world and new techniques were invented but still, transparent glass could not be achieved until the middle ages.

This important step took place in the island of Murano. Cristallo was the first clear, colourless, transparent glass and was made by the Venetian glass blower Cesaro Barovier in the 15th century.

Another marking point in the glassmaking industry was the invention of crown glass, which was a simpler process that prevailed in the middle ages. The glass that was manufactured by this method is sometimes thicker in the bottom than at the top. That is not attributed to the viscosity of the glass (a common misconception) but rather to the glass making process itself. It was slowly replaced in the 19th century by cylinder blown sheet glass, another hand-blown technique.

It took many years for man to study the relation of glass composition and properties. The industry only saw very steep scientific progress in the 19th century.

After we became aware of the underlying science of the craft, the glass making process was automated and improved to accomondate all our needs. The mass production of glass objects is done with the help of machines that create the desired shapes of the products using moulds.