Liquid Glass Body Jewelry
by Jason Pfohl

Glass belongs to a group of substances termed super-cooled liquids that have the unique property of passing into a rigid state without undergoing any noticeable structural change.  Whether glass is artificial (made by man) or natural (a volcanic substance such as obsidian) the ultimate structure of all glass is amorphous and not crystalline.

By its very nature glass is inert, and therefore hypoallergenic.  That
is to say, glass is totally un-reactive and exhibits no chemical activity
whatsoever, so it is completely deficient in causing any allergy.  Since
the 1980's glass has been used in the medical world as an inert
foundation substance in corrective facial bone surgery, and implantation in bone
reconstruction throughout the body.  The bio-compatibility
characteristics of glass make it a super-safe and super-comfortable material for body implantation, and ideal in helping to prevent infection in newly pierced or stretched
areas.
Liquid Glass uses only Borosilicate and Barium glasses in all pieces, so
there is absolutely no lead in any Liquid body jewelry.
Glass is nothing new to body decoration.  Over millennia ancient
cultures and tribal societies around the world have treasured glass as a symbol
of wealth and status.  In the form of glass beads, earrings, amulets and other
items, a precious, even spiritual attribution was bestowed upon the
material.

Over 3,000 years ago advanced glass-working techniques were in use in
Syria and Egypt.  Glass flourished during the reign of Amenhotep II.
Blue-green glass earplugs and cords of multicolored glass beads could be seen
adorning the elite of the court, and swirling glass ear spools, brilliant glass
nose rings and richly colored glass-and-gold amulets decorated the tattooed
bodies of the most luxurious courtesans and dancers.

Among the Aztecs of ancient Mexico glass in the form of finely worked
obsidian was in high demand.  Women and men of high rank began each day
gazing into mirrors of volcanic glass while adorning themselves with
obsidian ear spools and plugs, septum plugs and hooks, and blossoming
labret ornaments.  Members of the noble warrior societies would proudly
display scintillating black ear spools bristling with exotic feathers,
or obsidian labrets with strings of tubular jade beads, in order to
pronounce their rank and privilege.
In pre-historic and early-contact North America, glass was coveted as a
most precious material for body ornamentation and trade.  Among the
Tlingit, the Inuit, and the Eskimo of Alaska, ear, nose, and especially
labret piercing defined social status and rights of puberty.  In that
region blue glass labret plugs were the most precious form of currency
and biggest display of personal wealth.

Modern glass is manufactured on a torch using glass rods in a flame of
3,500° Fahrenheit, a process dubbed "lamp-working" after the medieval
glassblowers who employed oil-lamps and foot-bellows to make jewelry in
the same manner.  The Vikings utilized these techniques using shards of stained
glass, raided from the churches of their southern neighbors, to produce
distinct glass beads and rings displaying a rich and highly skilled
mosaic effect.
The optical and sculptural effects available with glass are endless.
Simple, clean, durable, and highly polished, glass possesses exquisite
and unique characteristics that set it apart from all other materials.

Liquid is proud to re-introduce tribal glass to the new generation.
Every piece of Liquid Glass Body Jewelry is crafted and inspected to exacting
standards.  Constantly innovating and developing new designs to
encompass the entire range of body piercing needs and tastes, Liquid is the forerunner in the glass piercing industry.