VaMarbles Posted June 13 Report Share Posted June 13 Are there differences in the two micas on the left (sapphire blue and green) vs the brown one? Have tons of the brown types with larger pieces of Mica but only a few of these “blizzard” types? Is blizzard type the right name? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted June 13 Report Share Posted June 13 Nice marbles, I'm not sure but I think "blizzard" has to do with whether or not the mica is cased. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaMarbles Posted June 13 Author Report Share Posted June 13 13 minutes ago, Ric said: Nice marbles, I'm not sure but I think "blizzard" has to do with whether or not the mica is cased. Okay. I think this one might be cased mica. Was in the same collection. Looks like to make it case blizzard you need the mica to be all inside under another thin film of glass. Tough to get a good pic 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted June 13 Report Share Posted June 13 Cased micas have the mica encased under clear on top of the colored base glass so the mica looks silver and doesn't take on the color of the base glass. The mica on this one still looks amber from here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted June 13 Report Share Posted June 13 (Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this content due to unchecked behaviors by others on this board) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted June 13 Report Share Posted June 13 6 minutes ago, Alan said: 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 thought this was pretty well accepted terminology/type perhaps cased in clear rather than cased in the same color as the base glass? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire1981 Posted June 13 Report Share Posted June 13 Back light the Brown one. It looks hand made. The pontil is in the last pic at 11:00🔥 RAR 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted June 13 Report Share Posted June 13 4 minutes ago, Fire1981 said: Back light the Brown one. It looks hand made. The pontil is in the last pic at 11:00🔥 RAR There are machine-made micas? I've seen single and double pontils but never a machine-made - unless maybe a JABO contract marble. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted June 13 Report Share Posted June 13 On 6/13/2025 at 6:31 PM, Ric said: There are machine-made micas? I've seen single and double pontils but never a machine-made - unless maybe a JABO contract marble. (Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this technical content due to unchecked behaviors by others on this board) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted June 13 Report Share Posted June 13 16 minutes ago, Alan said: All vintage micas are cane construction. All. That was my understanding too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akroorka Posted June 13 Report Share Posted June 13 Great discussion lets call in @Chad G. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chad G. Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 Yes, all micas are cane made as Alan said, never seen one that wasn't. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nickel Guy Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 I only have a few but this was an educational thread. Nice marbles too VA! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VaMarbles Posted June 14 Author Report Share Posted June 14 3 hours ago, Alan said: 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. Alan This is where I saw the term cased. Maybe I’m reading this wrong and will defer to you who has much better knowledge on these Micas. I guess then can I ask, would all three of the OP and the last picture just be called Micas and nothing else? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 Morphy has listed several over the years too. https://auctions.morphyauctions.com/auctionresults.aspx?searchvalue=cased+mica+marble&searchby=3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 @VaMarbles Getting back to "blizzards" - maybe it just has to do with how much mica there is. If so, it's pretty subjective. I imagine Minnesotans and Floridians might have different ideas about what constitutes a blizzard. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 (Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this technical content due to unchecked behaviors by others on this board) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 4 minutes ago, Alan said: Perhaps its just me . . . It's not, I agree with you in general. But in reference to micas, I think "cased" actually has some utility since it describes a construction that is significantly different than non-cased versions. If you think about Onion Skins or Peppermints with mica the idea of "cased" loses its significance since they are all cased in clear glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
akroorka Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 Umm--back to th og--is the on the left a vintage handmade? Maybe a Chinese knockoff?--just sayin! Marble--On!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 On 6/13/2025 at 10:14 PM, Ric said: It's not, I agree with you in general. But in reference to micas, I think "cased" actually has some utility since it describes a construction that is significantly different than non-cased versions. If you think about Onion Skins or Peppermints with mica the idea of "cased" loses its significance since they are all cased in clear glass. (Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this technical content due to unchecked behaviors by others on this board) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 1 minute ago, Alan said: All micas have an outer clear glass gather Why is it that the color of the metallic sheen produced by the mica varies with the color of the base glass? If they were all cased in clear wouldn't you expect the mica to look the same silver color regardless of the base color - like it does on Onion Skins or Peppermints - regardless of what color lies beneath it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 On 6/13/2025 at 10:30 PM, Ric said: Why is it that the color of the metallic sheen produced by the mica varies with the color of the base glass? If they were all cased in clear wouldn't you expect the mica to look the same silver color regardless of the base color - like it does on Onion Skins or Peppermints - regardless of what color lies beneath it? (Unfortunately, I have chosen to remove this technical content due to unchecked behaviors by others on this board) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 13 minutes ago, Alan said: Perhaps the intent of the word is to describe whether the outer glass is clear or base color. That is what I have been saying - apparently, not very well though. I would expect the mica in cased examples to appear pretty much the same, regardless of the base color. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire1981 Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 So….cased simply means below the surface glass. No mica on the surface glass with a texture like frit🔥 RAR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fire1981 Posted June 14 Report Share Posted June 14 But there is a clear glass on the outer part of the cane and the core is encased by that with the mica in the clear glass. 🔥 RAR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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