Glass Central

Did you know that the venetian island of Murano was and still is the hub and spiritual home of the glassmaking industry in Venice. 1921 saw the moving of the glass furnaces of Venice to the island of Murano, to stop the risk of them setting fire to the city. London Glaziers are glass professionals. The Venetians were inspired by migrant islamic craftsmen and taught themselves to make some of the finest glass the world has seen. This gave them a great advantage and popularity that lasted for centuries. Probably one of the most valuable art objects made from glass in the world is the Portland vase which was probably made in Rome about the beginning of the Christian Era. Long before man thought about how to craft glass, nature was already doing it. If lightning happened to strike sand, the generated heat can fuse the sand, forming it into long, slim glass tubes called fulgurites. The heat generated when a volcanic erupts can sometimes also fuse rocks and sand into a form of glass known as obsidian. In times long gone, people made obsidian into knives, arrowheads, jewelery, and money. Approximately 3000 B.C. is when the first real evidence of manufactured glass by people appeared. The Mesopotamia, Egypt, Syria were all glassmaking. However, you can thank an ancient Roman for the glass in your daily life. Because of their empire creating habits, the Romans took its modern glass manufacturing knowledge to its newly conquered lands. America got its first glass plant in 1608 and was in Jamestown, Virginia. London Glazing can advise on all glass types. In the 1850s, bottles and flasks were first used mainly for booze like whiskey. The Mason (screw top) jar for home storage appeared in 1858. Glass containers can be recycled, in other words, broken up and then melted with silica sand, limestone, and soda ash to make glass for new stuff. Glass can be recycled easily because it does not deteriorate however much it is used or how old it is. The energy produced from recycling one glass bottle can run a computer for half an hour.