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We welcome your questions and inquiries. We love to talk about the work and the technology that supports it. You’d be surprised. For an ancient craft, there’s a lot of space-age technology underneath.
What is fused glass?
What the heck is dichroic glass?
What’s your privacy policy?
Can I use a credit card to purchase items?
How secure will my credit information be?
What’s your return policy?
What happens if my purchase is damaged during shipment?
What is fused glass?
Fusing glass -- getting it so hot it melts together -- is an art with a long tradition. There’s evidence that even the ancient Egyptians created fused glass art. The technique pre-dates glass blowing. At Frances Fused we use glasses specifically designed for fusing. Much of our special effects are created through the liberal use of dichroic glass. It’s beautiful, mysterious, and every way you look at it, you see a different color.
What the heck is dichroic glass?
 Dichroic glass is the result of placing a multi-layered coating on glass using a highly technical vacuum deposition process. Quartz crystal and metal oxides are vaporized with an electron beam gun in an airless vacuum chamber. The vapor then floats upward and first attaches then condenses on the surface of the glass in the form of a crystal structure. The glasses we use have as many as 30 layers of these materials yet the thickness of the total coating is approximately 35 millionths of an inch. The coating that is created is very similar to a gemstone, and careful control of the thickness creates different colors. Thus, all the colors are created using the same exact materials.
 Originally created for the aerospace industry, dichroic glass is now made available to the artist community through several specialty manufacturers. We use only dichroic glasses manufactured by Coatings By Sandberg,Inc. (CBS). CBS dichroic glass is specifically designed to be hotworked but it’s just as beautiful in its raw form.
The main characteristic of dichroic glass is that it has a transmitted color and a completely different reflective color. (di = two, chroic = colors, dichroic = two colors!) Light passing through dichroic glass transmits one color, while light bouncing off dichroic reflects another color. Just to keep it interesting, these two colors shift depending on your angle of view.
Combine the play of light with the vibrant colors and dichroic glass makes a visual splash suitable for any occasion!
What’s your privacy policy?
We have a very stringent privacy policy to protect our clients. We use your information to ship items, and to send you occasional e-mail newsletters advising of new items or special sales events. You can always opt-out of our e-mail (though we hope you won’t!), and we will respect your wishes. We do not lend, rent, sell, share, or carelessly handle any personal information provided by our clients. We sell jewelry -- not information.
Can I use a credit card to purchase items?
Yes, we accept credit cards via Paypal. In our opinion, its the safest way to pay on the Internet. Its free for our buyers. Click on the logo below to learn more and to sign up for your free account today at Paypal.
How secure will my credit information be?
We use Paypal to accept credit card payments because you never disclose your credit card information to Frances Fused Online. Paypal is backed by eBay, the Internet’s largest auction site. We have never had a problem, and we are confident that you won’t either. Many online vendors accept Paypal; more every day. Once you’ve tried it, you’ll want to use it for all your online purchases.
What’s your return policy?
If you are dissatisfied for any reason with a purchase from Frances Fused Online, we will accept the undamaged item for a full refund of the purchase price (excluding shipping and handling). We extend this policy for 30 days from the purchase date.
What happens if my purchase is damaged during shipment?
We pack our shipments very carefully using bubble wrap. We use cardboard boxes for priority mail shipments. However, our product is glass and by nature it is breakable. We cannot be responsible for damage during shipment. We offer insurance, and we encourage our buyers to take advantage of such protection. Additionally, when you use Paypal to pay for your item, other purchase protections may be available.
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