Tried & True: Effetre 456 Rubino Oro (aka Gold Pink)

This beautiful color is probably the one I have worked the most with in the last five years, and the one color I am most known for among my lampworking friends.Rubino is the basis for all things pink in the 104 coe world - with the exception of a few new colors coming out lately. But if you want to make beads with pink in them, Rubino is the best place to start.

There are as many batches of Rubino as there are stars in the sky, it seems. In rod form, they range from almost perfectly clear, to a deep transparent wine color. And you’ll soon discover that rod color is important. To start with, you want a batch that falls somewhere in the middle - most glass sellers have these on hand. The color shown in the swatch above is about what you want to look for in rod form.

Rubino is not the easiest color to work with (of course!). It’s persnickity as all get-out, and if you work with it in the flame for too long, you can completely burn out all the color. Ack! Here are some tips to start you out with - then don’t be afraid to experiment.

The first thing to keep in mind is that Rubino likes a slightly oxidizing flame, and the smaller the flame, the better. I work this color a bit higher up in the flame as well.

As long as the flame is small, you can work this glass for a good length of time - the longer you work it, the darker it gets - unless you get it too hot - then the color can disappear, or turn a muddy brown. For best results, alternate between cool and warm - almost like you are striking it over and over again.

Rubino is best used sparingly - as a base it can go cloudy and somewhat dark. It’s perfect as a layering color - it encases well, and can be used as surface decoration. Any opaque pink, white, light purple, light blue, etc. will work well layered with Rubino.

Most batches of Rubino also tend to bleed a little - to take over the color they are layered with. This can actually be used to your advantage - as dots of Rubino over any opaque pink will melt and distort into really uniform shapes. I love doing this - it’s kind of my Zen of lampworking - watching pink dots melt into squares, hexagons, triangles, etc. See some of the beads below for an example of this.

Try and stay away from the Ivory shades - they will react with Rubino to form dark orange-ish brown shades. That can be a nasty surprise when you wanted pink and cream! Instead, try Silver Pink as your cream color.

As for most of the Coral batches - they look wonderful with Rubino as long as they aren’t melted together. Too much Rubino on Coral and you get brown mud.

Rubino reduces to a deep metallic sheen - try it with some bumps on clear or pale lavender - so pretty!

Vetrofond’s version of Rubino is slightly darker and more raspberry in tone.



**Edited to add - I also have a tutorial on Coloraddiction that is dedicated to all things pink.  Lots more detailed info and pictures about Rubino glass, as well as many other shades of pink.  Check it out here. :)