Krystal Rocks News

We are a family business based in Devon. This website has come about due to regular enquiries from our customers, guests who have seen or made a purchase from one of our cabinets in hotels around the UK, requesting the opportunity to see our jewellery when they are not away from home. The jewellery in our cabinets changes regularly and here on the website we hope you'll find lots of timeless favourites and also specially selected new items as and when they come in. This website is very much a work in progress, if you have seen an item in one of our cabinets and can't see it here please get in touch and we will do our best to find it for you.

Avventurina or Aventurine is the name given to the tiny metallic sparkles in Murano Glass and this has justifiably become one of the most popular of the Murano Glass making techniques.

Avventurina is a Murano glass-making technique developed on Murano island in the 17th century. It was first mentioned in a document dating from 1614 as "a kind of stone with gilt stars inside". A glass artisan is said to have accidentally dropped some metal shavings into the glass mixture as he was working it. 

The recipe involves adding various metal oxides such as copper and iron to the hot glass mixture, which causes tiny particles of the metals to crystallize as the glass mixture cools off creating the unique sparkling swirling famous worldwide.

Murrina Glass Technique

The manufacture of Murrina Glass is the most labour intensive and longest of the three techniques used by the Venetian glass artisans; Murrina rods are cut in to small pieces which are called millefiori beads and then each tiny piece is individually placed into a copper frame, like a mosaic. When the frame is complete it is placed in an oven overnight to melt and thicken. The final stage is for the glass to be ground and polished, all done by hand to create individual, unique pieces of Murano jewellery

Glass Sheet Technique

The manufacture of the glass sheet is the most modern of the artisan techniques; First a slab of Murano glass is laid out and various loose materials are scattered over it such as gold and silver foils and small pieces of coloured glass.
A second slab of Murano Glass of a different colour, is then placed on top like a sandwich, and then it is baked overnight in an oven.
The glass will be then ready to be cut in different moulds and objects exclusively handmade individually unique.

 Murano glass beads are all individually hand made by a master craftsman in Venice making each piece of Murano jewellery individual and unique. 

Millefiori

The millefiori technique involves the production of glass canes or rods, known as murrine with multicolored patterns which are viewable only from the cut ends of the cane. A murrine rod is heated in a furnace and pulled until thin while still maintaining the cross section's design. It is then cut into beads or discs when cooled

An ancient technique, dating back to the beginning of ‘900 and nowadays used only by the master glass-makers of Murrano to create beautiful, unique glasswork.