Hi everyone -
I’ve been on a hunt for “Roman glass” for quite a while now. I’m
working on a loop-in-loop strap bracelet for one of my final
projects this semester. Since it’s an ancient Roman weave I thought
it’d be cool to set a piece of Roman glass in the center piece of
the bracelet and on the box clasp.
I’m hoping someone knows where I can get it. Fire & Ice (a jewelry
store in the mall) has a line of jewelry with Roman glass in it as
does another jewelry shop in the mall, but of course they won’t
share their source with me. I even offered to buy it from them
loose/unset, but no dice. So I wound up buying a few pieces from
Fire Mountain Gems, but the glass shards are a strange doublet
looking thing that’s not pure glass. It flakes off and is extremely
fragile, not to mention they set it in epoxy and even after soaking
in acetone for hours it’s a bear to get out because the material is
so fragile.
The Roman glass that I’m looking for is from archeological digs from
Israel (the Eretz region is where it’s most common from what I
understand). It has developed an iridescent blueish patina from
being buried in the sand for so long. If anyone can help me get in
touch with a supplier I will be extremely grateful! Thanks!!!
Mollie