Alan

Here is a galactic planet:

I think (by appearance) that some had a final gather in clear and other had a gather in the base color. If the latter, the light reflecting off the silver mica is filtered through that color. So the reflected light takes on that tint. A reminder to us all that all marbles are seen and perceived by reflected light. Perhaps the intent of the word is to describe whether the outer glass is clear or base color. Also, the thicker the outer layer, the dimmer the light reflected off the mica is. Or put another way - the less obvious the mica is.

Which brings me back to the question: What is a "cased" mica? All micas have an outer clear glass gather - otherwise the mica will just gradually fall off. That is part of the standard cane construction. (If someone has a vintage mica with naked mica on the outside, please speak up). What does the word mean in this context?

Perhaps its just me - but I want to know what a specific term is supposed to mean before I just accept its use only because it has become commonplace. We have a lot of words in this hobby that are casually used (and many more new words recently invented). Perhaps we should pause and ask ourselves specifically what they mean and why its use is important. Have we ever seen the term "uncased mica" used? YMMV.

All vintage micas are cane construction. All.

I'm not sure what the reference to "cased" mica means. All micas have to have a final layer of glass on the outside. A mica is a mica. The mica may be finer or more coarse, depending on how it was diced and sifted (or not). Also based on how much mica was spread on the marver and how evenly/unevenly. Like frit on an onionskin, this was a fast and fairly crude process. Outcomes vary.

I have the same - and same predicament!

Yes - Comedy and Tragedy masks in uranium glass.

Yes - he had a Monkey Man. He also did a few with faces on both sides. Its hard to say where the momentum started in time. Possibly the intersection of Matthews, Beetem, Salazar, Davis, Jody Fine, Rolf Wald and a number of torch artists like JHM, Chuck Pound etc. Of course that is simply my single exposure. (Apologies for those I admire and did not list from memory). You called the artists very, very well.

Here is one of Bill's with dichroic sunglasses:

Very good call - Harry & Wendy Besett. Its large - 3" dia., 6-stage. IIRC it took a bit over a week to make.

That space has always been a routine fact of construction. There isn't anything unusual about it. The naming convention that you mentioned someone is using is quite new (I've been collecting handmades for over 3 decades and have never heard anyone use it) and seemingly an artificial and unnecessary invention. I can only guess that person is using such inventions as a means of influencer branding.

Close up which "gaps"?

Yes - MK. These are more recent. They usually have excess colorant precipitated out - sometimes chunky.

Yes. Approx. one zillion of these were dug.

Machine made. The construction is machine made, absent the pock mark. No sign of cane construction.

I don't see a signature. Without one, the technique could be attributed to quite a number of artists that learned the vortex technique and the outer decoration. I once watched over a dozen artists doing vortexes at the same time at Wheaton. That was just a very tiny sampling.

Modern.

It appears to be a less-colorful egg yolk oxblood. Is there a reason you disregarded my question?

Flopover single ingot.

What is "strange" about it?

It lacks enough of Master glass flow at the surface for me to say Master. Its dark glass. I'll venture only so far to say "not U.S."