Sizing
The marble sizes given are always approximate. With machine made marbles the sizes will typically vary by up to a mm either side of the size given, so a 14mm marble could be either a 13mm or 15mm marble.
This is normal and is part of the process of making marbles as it is always going to be difficult when working with liquid glass to get an exact size.
Size variations will look more obvious with smaller sizes and could vary more than a mm for larger size marbles.
Further to this our marbles are made in batches to bring them to you at the best prices possible, however the sizes and colours of any one marble will vary from batch to batch and this a normal part of the process. Colours seen in glass are effected by the humidity, temperature and other conditions on the day they are made, as is the size as atmosphere effects the rate at which the glass cools. While every effort is made to make marbles as similar as possible to one another, their differences are what make them unique and special. We believe this is why they are so treasured around the world – NO ONE will have exactly the same marble as you have!
Finish
There are several finishes that your machine made marble could have. These include:
- Lustered – these are marbles with an opalescent finish on the outside of the marble which is transparent but with a multicoloured sheen.
- Frosted – frosted marbles are marbles with a tumbled style finish. They are still completely round but are harder to see through if they are clear.
- Textured – Textured marbles have pieces of coloured glass dropped into the outside and are therefore not completely round. Some textured marbles can also be lustered.
- Standard – Standard marbles have no lustre, no texture and are not frosted. They can still be simply marble-ous though!
Handmade marbles tend to just have a standard finish but the product description will state if it is different.
Variation
Handmade Marbles
Handmade marbles are stunning and vary widely. There will also be variation from marble to marble and this is part of the uniqueness of them. It make them special and more collectable.
On occasion, there may be makers marks which are an enduring mark from the process of imbibing a particular design. For example eyeball marbles may often have a small poke mark in the front of the design where the pupil has been added.
Machine Made Marbles
Machine made marbles are made from rolling molten glass. The larger the marble the more clear it is to see how they were made. These are called ‘roll marks’ and while they will be imperceptable in small marbles, enormous marbles will almost always have visible signs of the making process. massive and sometimes giant machine made marbles may also sometimes have these marks.
Collectors Marbles
Collectors marbles are normally always unique from one another because they are handmade and larger than our own range of handmade marbles. They will be made using a range of unique methods and glass, for example by adding millifiori designs, and using brosilicate glass.
Collectors marbles are often signed by the maker and make often have a year of creation marked on them subtley. This can sometimes be done by additing text in platinum or engraving the glass. This is normally done very subtley and adds to the unique nature of these marbles.