Gemstone

Once glass is tempered, it cannot be cut. If someone attempts to cut tempered glass, the glass will explode. Companies often discard tempered glass when panels are scratched, damaged, or ordered by mistake. Nathan Allan has eliminated the need to discard glass using a process that formulates and detempers the tempered glass. The company makes all of its products from excess glass that it detempers and prepares for a second life.

Gemstone is a cast glass with freeform surface textures. Because the material employs a combination of clear finish colors with pearlescent coating, it is appropriate for applications in which backlighting is difficult. Nathan Allan manufactures Gemstone in fifty-five standard textures and four standard colors, and they are able to match any Pantone color.

Contact: Nathan Allan Glass Studios Inc., Richmond, BC, Canada.
Find more information in Transmaterial 2.