Need Advice for Russian Glitter Lamp

[Mark]

Hi all,

I recently purchased Russian lamp in the attached picture.

I own a few vintage lamps, and thought the glitters were generally a safe bet (usual problems aside)....however, as great as the lamp looks in the picture, it's not working for me :-(

The glitter simply sits on the bottom, and after a few minutes a dozen or so squares will rise slowly. However, you don't get the full effect you see in the picture without a little shake, and then it gradually settles down again. 

The seller assured me that it worked, without the need to shake, although it was a 'slow starter' (10-20 minutes). However, I've tried leaving it for up to an hour with no joy.

It has a large/old style 40w bulb in it, which sits directly under the bottle which is quite small, and the base immediately under the bottle gets very hot (surprisingly the bottle doesn't get particularly hot).  

I've tried a smaller bulb, and this was even worse.

The bottle contains small gold squares, and the liquid appears slightly discoloured in daylight (perhaps a little gold has bled from the squares?). It doesn't have the strong smell that the old Euro lamps have.  

Close inspection shows that the bottle has probably been open to the air a few times, as there are a few hair strands floating in it, and it wasn't sealed very well when it arrived (luckily only lost a little), so have sealed the stopper well with some amalgamating tape. 

Any advice would be much appreciated, as it looks fantastic when moving.

Thanks,

Mark

[Carol]

I miss it too when I don't kit for awhile.........when Jim is settled in and ready to ship, I may get a few empties from him.....I still want to try some of your glitter also!!!  It looks stunning!!!

[Mark]

Great choice of cap too....apart from the fact that it went all the way to America to be re-filled, I like the fact that an American flag is now secretly concealed within a Russian lamp ;-)