The world of marbles is full of surprises. For example, did you know that the basic element of glass is... sand! Yet at first glance, nothing suggests a connection between these two materials. The glass in our marbles feels soft in our hands, while the sand, no matter how fine, is decidedly gritty. Even our frosted marbles (marbles with a frosted coating) are infinitely softer to the touch than a handful of sand is. This brings us to another paradox: the "sandpaper" is much less pleasant to the touch than our marbles :) In reality, these ambiguities are due to the fact that the word "glass" designates a very large number of possibilities. The first natural production of glass was located in the eastern Mediterranean basin: it was the result of the intense heat exerted by the sun on sand. The first traces of human production of glass can be found in Mesopotamia, almost 5,000 years ago. But glass was also found very early in history, "naturally" manufactured during eruptions of volcanoes. It is the Romans who seem to have been the first to have used it for the manufacture of windows. Glass marbles are not made exclusively of molten sand because the silica in the sand needs to be subjected to very high temperatures of about 1750°C, which complicates the manufacture of marbles. To simplify the manufacture of the glass marbles, it was necessary to add to the sand water containing "melting agents", such as soda, potash or lime, to precisely lower the temperature necessary for the melting process. Glass is one of the most easily recyclable materials because it melts at an even lower temperature without the need to add these famous fluxes. It is by adding lead to the mixture that they melt that the glass artisans make crystal marbles. The first crystal glasses appeared at the end of the 15th century in Venice. But the Venetian glass craftsmen were eventually overtaken in their art by the glass craftsmen of the Czech Republic. These craftsmen have been making Bohemian crystal objects for over eight centuries! Today, our website sells marbles made from the finest crystal in the world. The glass quality of our art marbles is particularly hard and brilliantly intense. Our handcrafted art marbles are randomly named "Bohemian glass marble" or "Bohemian crystal marble". But behind these two names are marbles of the same perfect quality. The collection of Bohemian marbles includes marbles with a beautiful iridescence and other marbles with a remarkable brilliance. The art marbles on this site come in a variety of sizes: from the smallest marbles to the very large marbles. The larger marbles are placed on bases so that they remain in place on your tables or shelves. Glass artisans have also made exclusive flat-bottomed art marbles to avoid the use of this stabilizing base. These marbles can then be used as a paperweight: a wonderful gift idea for parents who will be proud to put on the desk at work these marbles of absolute elegance, offered by their child.
