Dichroic Glass is somewhat of a misnomer, since the dielectric coating that produces all the interesting colours is not glass at all, but a thin multi-layer coating of metal oxides and quartz crystals, with a total thickness of three to five millionths of an inch. It is produced by a highly technical vacuum deposition process.
This stack of the thin layers produce an “interference filter” commonly used in lens systems in the science world. Glass Artists now use glass coated in this way to create the varied and unique colour characteristics we see in pendants, rings and bracelets today.
In heating the Dichroic coating and bringing the glass to melting temperatures the coating crazes and the colour changes. This is a permanent colour shift and is dependent on temperature, exposure time and the number of re heats necessary to finish the piece. The coating that is created is very similar to a gemstone and the way these works of art catch the light and sparkle, has been compared to the brilliance of an Opal.
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