Glass Colours

Glass chemistry is a complex subject, and as such the following descriptions are merely a guide based on descriptions and photos. Colours can vary wildly depending on conditions of manufacture, contamination and even heating/cooling of the glass.

It is also worth noting that there are a few mechanisms by which these metals give glass colour. Some ions are simple doping of the glass, as is the case with many modern glass colors, while some are colloidal particles, such as red gold glass. Some colours are brought about by simple absorption, while others are from light scattering, producing colours unrelated to the metal’s absorption spectra.

Many more great photos can be seen in the smart-elements.com catalogue.

Metal	Glass Color 1 2 3	Image
Boron + Sulphur	Blue tint, seen in many common glass objects.
Carbon Oxides	Amber-brown
Sodium Nitrate	A decolourising agent.
Titanium	Yellow-brown
Vanadium	Green
Chromium	Dark green.
Manganese Compounds	Purple/violet. A decolourising agent in low concentrations. Some varieties can fluoresce red under UV light.
Iron	Bluish-greens and browns
Cobalt	Deep blue/purple.	4
Nickel	Blue to Violet to Black. Used to decolourise lead glass.
Copper	Dark opaque red, blue, greens
Niobium	Deep to light blue
Selenium	Reddish. Decolourises in low concentrations.
Molybdenum	Brown/ Purple through blue/cyan, depending on oxidation state
Rhodium	Red-brown
Silver (Nitrate, Halides)	Red-orange to yellow. Heavily affected by heating and cooling of glass.
Cadmium-Sulphur Compounds	Yellow to orange to brown-red	5
Antimony	White, red-yellow
Tin Compounds	Milky white.
Tungsten	Deep blue
Iridium	Amber
Gold	Red (‘Ruby Gold’, often from lead glass), red-pinkish (‘cranberry’) in low concentrations)	6
Bismuth	Orange
Cerium	Colourless. Fluoresces blue under UV light
Praseodymium	Yellow
Samarium	Blueish-green. Fluoresces orange under UV light
Europium	Pink/orange tint. Fluoresces red under UV light
Terbium	Colourless. Fluoresces yellow under UV light
Thulium	Yellow-green
Dysprosium	Colourless. Fluoresces green under UV light
Thulium	Yellow-green
Uranium (‘Vaseline’ glass)	Yellow-green. Glows under UV light	7
Neodymium	Reds/purples. Used in high power lasers.
Praseodymium	Greens
Didymium (Praseodymium & Neodymium mixture)	Green, or lilac-red. Used in safety glasses and optical filters, blocking yellowish light	8