> [!NOTE]+ Meta > Author:: Heritage Crafts > Reference:: Heritage Crafts. (2024, April 9). Glass eye making - Heritage Crafts. https://www.heritagecrafts.org.uk/craft/glass-eye-making/ > Tags:: #warp > WeftLinks:: [[Health value of craft]] > Claim:: [[Claim - Hand skills play a role in medical procedures]] > [!SUMMARY] Summary > Glass eye making remains a craft skill that is critical to prosthetics. ### Highlights Prosthetics are a crucial means of patients returning to normal living. Craft skills are key to the making of prosthetics which are customised and unique to the user. Glass eye making is a highly skilled craft which is in danger of being lost due to the lack of heritage skills in the UK >Glass eyes were once widely made in the UK and were the standard ocular prosthesis. Most are now made from PMMA (poly methyl methacrylate) also known as acrylic glass. Modern glass eyes are made from cryolite glass that is highly biocompatible and does not include any chemical additives. >Despite the dominance of PMMA in modern prosthetics, there are some that argue that glass eyes are better for some patients and that glass eyes reflect light in a way that is more similar to the natural eye.  In some European countries, such as Germany, glass is still the normal standard for ocular prosthesis whereas in the UK they have largely been replaced by synthetic materials. >Cryolite is a specialised white glass which becomes translucent at high temperatures. It has been specially developed for artificial eyes and is produced by specialised glassworks. The coloured parts of the eye prosthesis are also made of glass. Iris markings, pupil, veins etc. are melted onto the cryolite glass with the aid of coloured glass. ### See also - _The last glass-eye maker in Britain_. (2019, December 19). Wellcome Collection. https://wellcomecollection.org/articles/Xbg_IBAAACIAjR4b