A Brief History of Glass Making

Glass is something that we see everyday.  Whether it’s on our car windshields, our windows, or on our desks/furniture glass is something that we in the modern world take for granted.  In the ancient world however, glass was a marvelous and rare product reserved for only the wealthiest people.  Glass making dates as far back as 3000 B.C. and below is a brief timeline of glass making starting from the beginning:

3000 B.C. – Mesopotamia – Glass Making Begins

Although it is true that primitive man used natural occurring forms of glass (such as tektites & obsidian) to create tools, the first traces of glass creation date back to ancient Mesopotamia.  It then traveled quickly to surrounding areas of the world such as Africa, Asia, & Greece where it evolved in various ways depending on their unique cultures.

650 B.C. – Assyria – The First Glass Making Manual is Found

Having been practiced for thousands of years, a formal manual has been found that dates back to ancient Assyria where the process detailed was much more tedious and costly than our current standards.

100 B.C. – Syria – Glass Blowing is Invented

Somewhere around the 1st Century there was a major revolution in glass making.  Glass blowing was a method invented in Syria which forever changed how glass was distributed and used.  With this new technique glass could be made quickly and cheaply, making glass more widespread and common in many various different forms.  To this day glass blowing remains one of the main forms of glass creation.

100 AD – Rome – Glass is First Used in Architecture

With the advent of clear glass in Alexandria glass was now beginning to be used for architectural purposes, such as windows.  This spread quickly all over Europe and by the 14th century there was a bustling glass industry which continues to this day.

1950 – Great Britain – Float Glass Method of Glass Making is Pioneered

The most recent major development in the glass making industry is the development of the “float” method of glass production invented by Sir Alastair Pilkington.  He honed this method over 7 years and it has now become the most used form of industrial glass creation worldwide.  Although many glass craftsman still use other methods for glass creation and production.

There you have it! A brief history of glass making which has brought us to the modern day era.  CGD utilizes the most advanced methods for custom glass creation available and we’d like to think that we are at the forefront of creative glass products in our time.