For a long time the so-called «antique glass» was used in the manufacture of stained glass. It could be matte or transparent, rolled or blown, but certainly handmade. The variety of handmade glass also includes opal, opaque and opalescent glass. These glasses have different transparency; they combine different shades and different photorefractive characteristics.
New types of glass appeared with the invention of the rolling technology. Glass became textured (pattern was applied mechanically), the volume, it has acquired faceting and ornate texture – as a result, it became able to make complex visual effects.
Processing techniques have undergone significant changes as well. Hot and cold processing technology: mechanical (such as frosting, engraving) and chemical (such as acid etching) technique of painting, fastening structures – all this has been improved. Fastening on the epoxy resin or polymer concrete supplemented the lead binding, which is being used for centuries, and copper one, which appeared in the 50′s. Later fastenings on aluminum and brass appeared which is now replaced by technology based on molecular attaching compound.
