Aventurine glass is known many different names. It’s also known as monkstone, Stellaria, or goldstone, and it’s quite beautiful. It’s easy to mix it up with minerals like feldspar or quartz, which can have tiny flecks of glittering material that add shine and luster. This is not aventurine glass, but it is called aventurine.
The birth and invention of this glass is credited to the Miotti family of Italian glassmakers. They invented this unique, iridescent glass in the mid-seventeenth century, and it quickly became coveted. For many years, their method of making the glass was kept a closely guarded secret, and they initially had exclusive rights to produce it.
Fortunately, the secret of how the glass was made was finally revealed. The glass was essentially mixed with copper or copper salts. These mineral deposits clumped together as the glass melted and cooled, giving it a gold-flecked, gleaming appearance. The glass itself had no color, as is typical of most glass, but the additional minerals added could produce a variety of colors, including green and blue, though the most common color is a rich, ruddy brown.
You can also find aventurine glass with more silvery flecks of shine than gold aventurine glass. This effect can be achieved the minerals that are added to the glass. The glass became highly prized regardless of how it was made in those early days. Jewelry, vases, and mosaics were all made from it. Given the limited number of pieces produced, the prices were initially quite high.
When the widow of one of the Miotti glassmakers revealed the secrets of the trade in the early 1800s, prices fell. As a result, a number of glassmakers increased their production of the glass, and overall technique improved. The cost of aventurine glass for beading has gradually decreased, and it is now very easy to find at a much lower cost. Some argue that the glass must be made in Italy to be considered “authentic.”
There are a number of myths, folklore, mysteries, and secrets surrounding how the Miotti family created this glassmaking process, which almost suggests magic or alchemy, just as the tiny flecks of mineral seem to sparkle in a magical fashion when you gaze at aventurine glass. The name itself could imply finding something chance, luck, or adventure. However, there were rumors that a secret and unknown order of monks passed the glassmaking technique down to the family. Even though we now know how the glass that glints like gold gets its glitter and shine, there’s something special about it.