Purple Glass Bottle (1000ml) (2024)

FAQs

Why did they stop making purple glass? ›

In the early 20th century, changes in manufacturing processes, as well as more pure batch materials, dictated different ways to decolorize glass, and the use of manganese oxide for this purpose dwindled.

Yes! Deeper and more vibrant shades are ultra rare, but all sea glass in this color family is quite rare.

Much of the time, the mold seam height indicates how old the bottle is. Machine-produced bottles from 1905 through the 1920s displayed higher, thicker mold seams compared to later machine-made bottles. As technology progressed, the seams grew thinner until they reached a hair's thickness.

It is a photochemical phenomenon that is not yet perfectly understood. It is generally accepted that the ultra-violet light initiates an electron exchange between the manganese and iron ions. This changes the manganese compound into a form that causes the glass to turn purple.

The color purple (or amethyst), when created by the inclusion of manganese in the formula of container glass, has long been a source of fascination for the archaeologist and the bottle collector.

While the addition of gold enabled artists to create a beautiful shade of red that would remain vivid year after year, it also made red glass a valuable commodity. “Even today,” Geology.com says, “if you purchase a red sheet of glass it will cost significantly more than any other color.”

Purple lenses have a soothing effect on the eyes which helps reduce strain and eye fatigue. They also reduce blue and green light from the environment which creates a calming effect, reducing stress and anxiety. This quality also makes colors like pink, orange and red extra vivid, so they stand out even more.

The single most important criterion is condition. Glass is fragile, so it gets damaged easily. Many of the collectible bottles out there have some form of flaw such as scratches and wear, bruises, chips, cracks, etc. To the uninitiated, every bottle is in “great” condition.

If your antique glass bottle has excessive staining and water damage then you will need more vigorous cleaning session to bring these back into a good condition. However do avoid delicate thin glass for this routine. Fill your bottles with water and let them soak to softens the dirt and debris.

How rare is purple glass? ›

Purple bottles are unusual to find, because true purple glass was not commonly used, and in fact, most purple bottles found these days started off as clear bottles.

Because it takes so long, some people expose the glass to UVC lamps in a box at high intensity for 3–4 weeks to get them to change from clear to lavender.

Manganese is one of the oldest glass additives, and purple manganese glass was used since early Egyptian history. Manganese dioxide, which is black, is used to remove the green color from the glass; in a very slow process this is converted to sodium permanganate, a dark purple compound.

Purple sea glass is very uncommon, as is citron, opaque white (from milk bottles), cobalt blue and cornflower blue (from early Milk of Magnesia bottles, poison bottles, artwork, Bromo-Seltzer and Vicks VapoRub containers), and aqua (from Ball Mason jars and certain 19th century glass bottles).

Blue glass cannot block UV light. Because of that, materials in a blue glass are left exposed to these harmful light rays, which results in rapid oxidation. Oxidation alters the state and effectiveness of materials, thereby affecting their overall quality and shelf life.

The scarcity of uranium between 1942 and 1958 meant that production paused in many areas and was stopped completely in the US as the government confiscated uranium supplies for the Manhattan Project. Today, only a few manufacturers continue to make some form of uranium glass.

From 1885 to 1914, manganese dioxide was used as a clearing agent by glass makers to make sure the glass remained clear. However, when exposed to the sun over time, the manganese dioxide in the glass will cause the glass to turn a purple tint. The main source of this clearing agent was Germany.