CiM Testing: Peony

Peony is the same hue as Ballerina but it’s more translucent. It’s very similar in colour to CiM Rose Quartz. Because of this I wondered if I’d have the the same devitrification issues with Peony that I’ve experienced with Rose Quartz.

I did.

As you can see in the first photo of the plain spacers, the glass is fine. Spacers are quick to make; you get the glass hot, you round it up, you stick it in the kiln. Job done.

But when it came to the heart (pictured above) repeated cooling, shaping and reheating resulted in some very slight devitrification. It’s hardly noticeable in the picture above but it’s visible in the one below.

The right hand side of the bead has what looks like slight white scuff marks on it. I will say that they are only very slight and it’s only my pickiness that is stopping me from selling the bead. If I hadn’t told you there was a fault in the bead, most people would probably just think it was a weird quirk of the glass. Indeed, the devitrification is very minor compared to something like EDP devit, and you can’t even feel it like you can with that (EDP devit has that dull matt feel to it) but I’d be a naff tester if I didn’t share any negative findings, regardless of the severity them. I did make two hearts with this glass and I had the same issue with each one, so it’s not just a one-off.

The photo above shows Effetre White 204 scrolls on a base of Peony. As you can see, they *hate* each other. Again, I had a feeling this would happen because Rose Quartz doesn’t like stringer either. The design has gone all wibbly, not in a good way, and the Peony glass has reacted by going kind of foggy white in places.

In conclusion, peony is a very lovely opal pink but it does have its quirks. It’s fab as spacers but likes to be kept warm and might play up with anything you try to pair it with.

All photos were taken indoors in natural daylight.

Apologies for the finger pics. I know some people are weirded out by finger close-ups (especially if you hate scars and stuff, like the one on my forefinger) but sometimes you need to hold a bead to get the photo you want.