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What is Dichroic Glass? Dichroic glass is made in a vacuum chamber by depositing layers of metallic oxides on the surface of the glass. The dichroic coating itself has no color. The colors are created by light striking the coating on the glass. Each piece of dichroic glass has three colors associated with it: a reflected color, a transmitted color and a third reflective color that can be viewed at a 45-degree angle. The causes the glass to change color as the light hits it from different angles. Due to the complexity in creating this special glass, it is very expensive and somewhat unpredictable to work with. How are the beads made? The glass pendants are made by cutting and shaping several layers of glass. The glass is stacked and fired in a kiln until it becomes molten and fuses together, encasing the dichroic glass. Each piece is fired repeatedly at different temperatures, cutting and/or shaping the piece between firings, adding the hole for stringing, adding more glass when needed, until the desired effect is achieved. Some beads have been fired as many as 5 times and have multiple layers of dichroic glass included in them. All of my work is given a final fire polishing so that all the edges are smooth to the touch. No sha