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by Kat Kramer, Glasskatz
As a glass artist, I spend a LOT of money on dichroic glass to create dichroic cabochons and pendants. So what is dichro? A dichroic coating on glass gives jewelry a sparkle that’s just mesmerizing. If you’ve ever been to an arts festival, and saw glass pendants that you couldn’t take your eyes off of, they most likely contained dichroic glass.
A small piece of dichroic coated glass can be pretty expensive—maybe $8-14 for a 3”x3” piece. My first whole 16” circular piece cost about $190. But that’s not all…you need a kiln, which might cost another $450-1000. There are microwave kilns available, but you don’t have control over the heat…and expensive dichroic coating will burn away and turn into a gray haze if you overheat it.
But I saw something at JoAnn Fabrics the other day that made me start thinking about how to mimic the look of dichroic without the expense…something called “cello glitter.” I’ve played around with resin, so would it be possible to create a “faux dichro?” Absolutely.
So this little tutorial will guide you through making inexpensive faux dichro cabochons…with the realism of glass.
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