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Pink Glass / Paste
| Hardness | 5-6 |
| Specific gravity | 2.40-4.20 |
| Refractive index | 1.470-1.700 |
| Crystal system | 非晶質 |
Pale lavender-pink (manganese 0.5–1.0 wt% MnO₂), warm rose-pink (manganese 1.0–2.0 wt%), saturated hot-pink (selenium-and-sulfur), cool lavender-pink (neodymium oxide), and the rare 'erbium pink' specialty glass with narrow-band absorption. Swarovski's 'Light Rose' and 'Rose' standard colors at the 32 wt% PbO lead-crystal base remain the global reference shades for costume-jewelry pink.
- Regular round gas bubbles distributed evenly through the matrix — diagnostic of pressed or molded glass at 10×
- Surface molding seams and press-die parting lines on backs
- Color zoning streaks from incomplete batch mixing
- Devitrification crystallites in older or heat-stressed material
- Lampwork beads: spiral flow lines from molten-glass winding
- Singly refractive (amorphous glass structure) — no
- Refractive index 1.50–1.70 depending on lead content
- Specific gravity 2.4–4.5 — lead-crystal at the high end
- Mohs 5–6 — easily scratched by quartz (Mohs 7)
- Conchoidal fracture
- Chelsea filter: pink glass typically shows no significant response (manganese-rose paste is non-chromium-bearing)
- 01Regular round gas bubbles visible at 10× — immediately diagnose pressed or molded glass
- 02Singly refractive (no ) versus natural pink sapphire's clear at 30× immersion
- 03Refractometer reads 1.50–1.70 versus natural pink sapphire 1.762–1.770
- 04Mohs 5–6 scratches against a steel knife; natural pink sapphire (Mohs 9) is unaffected
- 05Specific gravity 2.4–4.5 versus natural pink sapphire 3.99–4.01 — hand-heft gives diagnostic difference at 1 ct and above
- 06nclusions and characteristic hexagonal color zoning at 10× — glass shows regular round gas bubbles
- Mohs 5–6 — stores separately to avoid scratches
- Avoid ultrasonic cleaning — vibration can crack the brittle matrix
- Stable to light and mild detergent; warm soapy water and soft brush
- Avoid thermal shock — conchoidal fracture risk
- Avoid strong acids and bases — surface etching possible on lead-crystal
Modern molded and faceted pink-glass cabochons trade at $0.30–$3 per piece wholesale (Indian and Chinese mass production); Swarovski Crystal Rose and Light Rose components at $0.50–$5 per piece; Czech Gablonzer pressed-glass and lampwork material runs $2–$25 per piece. Murano lampwork pink beads in millefiori techniques reach $50–$300 per bead at gallery prices. Genuine eighteenth- and nineteenth-century manganese-rose paste trades at $150–$2,500 per piece at vintage and estate auctions.
Note: Disclosure as 'glass' or 'imitation pink sapphire/rubellite/kunzite/morganite' is mandatory under FTC Jewelry Guides §23.25 and CIBJO Blue Book. Beware of pink glass marketed as 'rose quartz' — true rose quartz (SiO₂, Mohs 7, RI 1.544–1.553, doubly refractive) is a natural quartz variety colored by aluminum-titanium-iron substitutions and shows clear doubling at 30× immersion through the table where glass does not. Czech Gablonzer pressed-glass and Swarovski crystal components dominate the bridal-accessory and prom-jewelry markets. Pink lead-crystal Swarovski components in 'Light Rose' and 'Rose' shades have been standard for tiaras and bridal hair accessories since the 1950s.
Pink glass is amorphous SiO₂-based paste colored pink by various transition-metal and rare-earth chromophores. Manganese (Mn²⁺ for pale lavender-pink, Mn³⁺ for warmer rose) at 0.5–2.0 wt% MnO₂ produces the classical 'manganese rose' paste used in nineteenth-century jewelry; selenium-and-sulfur combinations yield the saturated 'selenium rose' hot-pink tones; rare-earth oxides (neodymium Nd₂O₃ for cool lavender-pink, erbium Er₂O₃ for selective narrow-band pink) provide modern alternatives with characteristic narrow-line absorption spectra. Non-crystalline, isotropic, Mohs 5–6, SG 2.4–4.5, RI 1.50–1.70, singly refractive, conchoidal fracture. Industrial production from Bohemian Gablonzer (Jablonec nad Nisou), Murano (Venice), Swarovski (Wattens), Preciosa (Jablonec), and modern Indian and Chinese factories. The manganese-rose colorant system has documented historical use back to the Roman period (Pompeii pink-glass fragments analyzed by Brill at Corning Museum of Glass in the 1960s).
Origins
aceted pink-crystal components since 1892. Italy (Murano, Venice) supplies high-grade lampwork beads. France (Saint-Gobain, Baccarat) produced eighteenth- and nineteenth-century manganese-rose paste descended from Strass tradition. India (Firozabad) and China (Shandong, Hebei) dominate twentieth- and twenty-first-century mass production.
History
Roman pink glass appears at Pompeii from the first century CE; analyses by Robert Brill at the Corning Museum of Glass (Steuben County, New York, established 1951) identified manganese as the principal chromophore in surviving fragments. The Venetian Murano tradition (Angelo Barovier, c. 1450) established medieval European leaded-glass production with rose-pink specialties. Georg Friedrich Strass's Paris atelier (1730s) introduced manganese-doped pink paste as imitations of pink topaz and rose-cut diamond. The systematic development of selenium colorants by Jöns Jakob Berzelius (1817 isolation at Karolinska Institutet) and the cadmium-sulfoselenide work at Schott Jenaer Glaswerke (Otto Schott, 1890s) extended the pink-glass palette to the saturated hot-pink shades. Bohemian Gablonzer pressed-glass production scaled from the 1820s. Daniel Swarovski's 1892 Wattens factory and Coco Chanel's 1920s costume-jewelry collections, followed by Christian Dior's 1947 New Look and 1955 Aurora Borealis partnership with Swarovski, established pink crystal as a perennial costume-jewelry color. The 1968 US FTC Jewelry Guides §23.25 disclosure rules apply.
Lore & symbolism
No birthstone designation (synthetic/imitation material). The pink-stone tradition in Western lapidary culture associates pink with romance, femininity, and youthful affection — pink sapphire (the natural species most often imitated by pink glass) is a perennial alternative October birthstone alongside opal and tourmaline. The Bohemian Gablonzer regional craft tradition is preserved under UNESCO intangible cultural heritage. Modern crystal-writing assigns no specific spiritual properties to glass imitations, though pink Swarovski crystal dominates the contemporary bridal-accessory and quinceañera markets.
Tools to confirm this stone
Tools that help confirm Pink Glass / Paste. Tap any item to jump to the matching section on the gem tools page.
- 最終確認日
- 2026年4月28日
- 参 考 文 献
- Gem Encyclopedia／ GIA (Gemological Institute of America)
- 宝石鑑別基準／ 中央宝石研究所 (CGL)
- Mineral & Gem Database／ Mindat.org / Gemdat.org
- 宝石学入門／ 全国宝石学協会
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