The origin of glass used for lamps and lights dates back to Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic, which has been the glass mecca of Central Europe since the 16th century. In the last thirty years, a large portion of this industry moved to Asia, but there are still many factories left and more and more people have begun to take an interest in European glass production.
Clear glass is blown into special molds at a factory situated in the southern part of old Bohemia, which was built at the end of the 18th century. Here glass is cut in a classic pattern based on models from the 19th century. During the last century, light bulbs were of very low wattage and were well-suited to crystal-cut glass shades. With the higher-wattage light sources that were introduced in the 1920s and onwards, crystal light shades disappeared completely. They have now regained popularity thanks to the recent advent of dimmable LED lights that produce a soft, warm light.
There is also a crystal matte shade with a cut star pattern on the bottom. This model also casts a beautiful warm light with the right LED bulbs.
The white glass shades are of a slightly simpler design and are hand-blown into their own special molds at glassworks in the northern part of Bohemia. This glass is also available in off-white and green. Stained glass is made by melting a special glass-based paint and merging it onto the glass surface as a final step in the manufacturing process. Opalescent glass can be used with stronger light sources with a cooler tint without distorting the light image.
