Sad News.....and then there were three.

[Critter]

Well I was talking with Johnny today via PM about his Princess refill. He told me that Mathmos mentioned to him that they broke their Princess during a bulb change. One of the four known to still exist.....and then there were three. To me this is the saddest of news. Whether you are a fan of Mathmos or not this is heart breaking.

[Carol]

Yes it is sad......it's always sad when there is something left that isn't going to be there anymore and it gets broken.........especially our beloved lava lamps.........it's a piece of heritage gone.....

[Modulo '70]

Surely they can replace the globe. They make Monster globes to order. There's no shortage of re-fill choice either. I don't believe all is lost. The most important thing is the integrity of that base, stand and the copper cap.

[Critter]

Yeah I am sure they can replace the globe with a new one but the new Monster globes are modern production glass and are spectacular. That original hand blown cylinder that is 50 years old has a character that is just missing in modern glass cylinders. Not to mention that it is hard to get exact sizes since now a days cylinders are made from extruded glass tubes which are sold only in certain diameter increments. The Rocket aka Princess is a completely hand crafted lamp the hand spun metal, hand blown glass, etc. Modern glass is just different....not the same. Last year when Tom S. Broke his Imperial ' s cylinder he was able to get a replacement made but it was only a close fit, not exact, and the glass went from hand blown with all its swirls and character to perfect production flawless clarity. In a vintage lamp it is just not the same. Unless they have another vintage cylinder laying about that lamp just changed drastically there is no doubt about that. I think they will replace the cylinder with new but it will not be the same. That is sad to me.

[Johnny]

dont panic there getting a  replacement made which better than no bottle, from the chat i had its not the first time one got broken LOL personal if its the same size and fits right id be happy with a new bottle than nothing,  we went into great lengh on refilling which if my mix turns up monday i shall be doing

[Critter]

Thanks for the update Johnny.  I'm not surprised that they would do a new bottle, Hell I sure would.  But honestly I'd have to look the world over and find a guy who could hand blow a duplicate.  I just love the nature of the hand blown cylinder, as you know from owning one these glass cylinders have interesting swirls,small bubbles, etc.  I would have to find a way to duplicate that and it would be expensive, very expensive.

Nothing against modern borosilicate glass but it's too perfect for a vintage lamp (still better than nothing).  When I looked into making a reproduction Imperial I found glorious cylinders all somewhat hand made in that a length of Glass Cylinder is cut to the required size and then a bottom is fashioned out and "glass welded" into place and then furnace fired.  It's not the same as hand blown but it ain't cheap either.  The glass wall thickness is consistent and clarity is flawless.

Take good care of your cylinder Johnny for all intents and purposes it's pretty much irreplaceable.  I always sit mine on a neoprene pad when I remove the cylinder because when it's full is is quite heavy.

Critter

[Johnny]

well id be happy with a new bottle than no bottle at all, though with my vintage lamps i refill the original bottles and use the original coils i dont think a repro bottle on such a rare lamp would de-value it, now if i had several hundred pounds to spare i could buy another bottle for the glitter mix and have 2 lol

[Critter]

Agree there Johnny you cannot have too many bottles! I like to switch ' em out to have several options for the Princess would be nice.

[Astralav]

You should ask a free bottle from Mathmos.

That is the least they can do to "fix" their mistake.

If they're going to get a repro, they can make 2.

I mean, come one, they broke an extremely rare lamp.

If I were you I wouldn't let it go without a big compensation from them.

(ask free refill too!)

PS: I thought this kind of refill should be done at home, as the lamp can't be moved after, so did they broke it at your home?

Johnny said:

now if i had several hundred pounds to spare i could buy another bottle for the glitter mix and have 2 lol

[Critter]

Astralav, Mathmos did not break Johnny's cylinder they broke their own.

Critter

[Johnny]

mines not broken phewwwww, Yes the refill is done at home, i shall video doing it tomoz

[Astralav]

OH I'm glad for you!

I didn't understand well.

Mathmos broke their own, it is still a bad news, but much better than breaking Johnny's...