Messy Color™ Sapphire

511543 - Sold Out

Sapphire (511543)<br />A transparent cobalt blue.

A transparent cobalt blue.


Click here to view Sapphire Uniques



"Sapphire always surprises me, it looks much lighter in the rod." Read more and see more comparison beads including etched versions at Lush Blogs. – Julie Fountain

Click here for other interesting Sapphire discoveries.
 
Messy Sapphire with silvered Triton shards
Trudi Doherty
Messy Sapphire with dichro
Pat O'Brien
Messy Sapphire with DH Kronos
Chris Trienens
Messy Sapphire, Hades, & dark ivory
Lori Bergmann
Messy Sapphire & DH Aurae
Darlene Collette
Messy Sapphire
Sue Stewart

CiM Tester Feedback

  • CiM Sapphire
"Sapphire has to be one of my favourite blues. The end result is gorgeous, no other blue comes close to it. It has an inner glow when turned into beads. I love the richness of Sapphire." – Juliette Mullett
"I find Sapphire to be a lovely, crystal clear purply blue. Just lovely and unique in use. In the rod, it was not as impressive, so I didn’t actually use it for a long time. In beads, though, it was just yummy." – Lori Peterson
  • Some testers report that Sapphire is easy to "boil" or "scum."
"I had great luck with Sapphire, but I work in a cooler flame." – Donna Dorman
“My experience with Sapphire is that it likes to be treated on the gentle side, not using lots of heat.” – Leslie Anne Bitgood
“Sapphire is the only color I have a huge problem with boiling/froth—it happens immediately when I try to melt it like I do everything else [approximately 4” from torch tip]. I have to work it at least 7” away from the torch to get it to calm down. I normally don’t have to do this with any other color." – Lori Bergmann
“I love Sapphire, no problem with pitting or boiling, it tends to come out darker than I expect though.” – Julie Fountain
“Sapphire scums for me, if I work it too hot. But I have found those cobalt based blues are a bit tricky sometimes. When I made beads with a Hothead, I rarely even used the Italian transparent cobalt blues, because they got smoky so easily. Aquamarine blues are easier!” – Maija-Leena Autio
“I find that you need to warm CiM colors more carefully to avoid the cracking, boiling. Even though I have observed bubbling and frothing, I find it’s from working the glass too hot. When I move it out a little further, the issue resolves. CiM seems to need to work just a smidgen ‘cooler’.” – Jennifer Borek
"Since I turned down my flame considerably, I don’t seem to have a problem with boiling or scum." – Jan Whitesel-Keeton
 “I prefer ALL of the CiM turquoise family colors to the Italian colors simply because they melt so much better and smoother.” – Renee Wiggins
“I love Sapphire. I had no sign of sparking or foaming. I was able to give it the necessary heat to let the glass flow enough for encasing and pressing.” – Gail Witt
  • Special thanks to Genea Crivello-Knable, Vonna Maslanka, & Maija-Leena Autio for providing the photos in this section.

DragonJools encased Heffalump with Sapphire.
Check out how Darlene Collette used Oz, Pulsar, & Sapphire with 99% fine silver.
Darlene Collette made a set including Sapphire with 99% Fine Silver Wire.
Genea Crivello-Knable made a button with Sapphire.
Pat Frantz demonstrates zigzag feathering with Sapphire & Marshmallow.
Liz Long shows how Stone Ground pairs well with Sapphire. See Liz's  bead on her blog.
Join Trudi Doherty's FB group Lampwork Colour Resource Sharing Information for a catalogue of color study.
Claudia Eidenbenz’s "Vetrothek" (glass library) is a great resource for color comparisons.
See Kay Powell’s frit testing samples.
Browse Serena Thomas’ color gallery.
Check out Miriam Steger’s CiM color charts.
Consult Jolene Wolfe's glass testing resource page.

"The bottom row contains the test beads of each of the nine glasses, the bottom bead of that glass alone, in the middle covered with clear and top on white. The beads on the other mandrel are my typical test beads that I do when I want to know how colorful some translucent glass is as a thin layer. Even though I tried to capture the colors as truthfully as possible, the shades are a little different than what they are in reality. At least on my screen." Read more at Maikki's blog.
– Maija-Leena Autio
Check out Amber Ballard's Bubbles tutorial in the December 2014 issue of the Soda Lime Times. This intermediate tutorial is a "superb jumping-off point into sculptural glass."
– Amber Ballard
Melanie uses Sapphire frit in her blend "Aquaphobia." See more of her 104 compatible FrittyBits blends.
– Melanie Graham
"Sapphire shifts to a smoky grey blue under fluorescent light."
– Deb Dunkerton
Vickie Christian uses Sapphire frit to create 104 compatible frit blends. Find more blends at Vickie's Emporium.
– Vickie Christian
"This set of 11 goddess series beads was created on a base of CiM Sapphire blue transparent glass with layered dots of Effetre Dark Ivory & CiM Hades. Trautman Art Glass rare silver infused Absinthe creates the swirls in each storm portal. Highlights of Double Helix silver glass, Triton, create the bling for these beautiful storm portal beads." Read more at Darlene's blog.
– Darlene Collette
"This one made me do a double-take. Why does Sapphire look like an orangey-brown colour on top of Copper Green? This is one of the weirdest things I've seen in a while. Where I used Sapphire on top of Copper Green, in addition to the odd colour that the Sapphire turns, something funny also happens underneath. The Copper Green does not get its metallic patina, and separates into two different colours of turquoise. On top of Sapphire, the Copper Green develops a turquoise outline and then the insides of the dots and stringer lines look faintly pinkish." Read more at Melanie's blog.
– Melanie Graham
"Sapphire, a transparent medium blue before heating, comes out of the kiln a much darker blue, and actually, more of a true gemstone sapphire colour, as opposed to the very blue sapphire colour that is usually indicated in the world of commercially made glass beads!" Read more at DragonJools blog.
– Dwyn Tomlinson
“This set of classic blue rounds are based on shades of blue transparent glass including CiM's Sapphire, Effetre Light and Medium Blue.”
– Darlene Collette
"Sapphire always surprises me, it looks much lighter in the rod." Read more and see more comparison beads including etched versions at Lush Blogs.
– Julie Fountain
"I like it best layered over clear or white to lighten up the color just a bit and really let that beautiful blue color shine. You can see the difference in the strand of crystal beads shown below the solid colored bead." Read more at Lori's blog.
– Lori Bergmann
"Sapphire matches Swarovski Montana crystals."
– Bethany Lemasters
"Sapphire does not have the tendency to boil and scum that many transparent blues have. It is a very user friendly glass, very easy to work with."
– Carol Oliver