Classics | The Long History of the Nordics and Jet lamps | A 1990s Classic that has its roots in the past ...

One of the most popular glitter & lava lamps of all time is the Mathmos Jet. This 1990s, extremely popular and simplistic lava lamp actually has its roots in the past and can be traced all the way back to the 1960s. When Edward Craven Walker launched the Astro lamp, the world's first lava lamp, he went on to acquire other bottle shapes to create different types of lamps. The third major bottle type following the sleeker thinner Astro Mini bottles would be the Nordic tubular bottle type. These tubular bottles, were first used in Crestworth's Cosmos, the first export market lamp, that was loved in France and sold extensively by Decoverre (Crestworth's distributor in France).

Other Nordics were produced including a black ceramic version of which the base and cap were manufactured by Gmunder-Keramic. Then Crestworth would develop the Nordic De Luxe MK1, which is a beautiful design that featured the lamp floating on a cone shaped base.

Crestworth then introduced a new version called Nordic De Luxe MK2, which replaced the cone shaped base for a simpler base design. MK2 was extensively sold with Crestworth's Living Jewel formulation. Both MK1 and MK2 were offered in silver and copper anodic finishes, of which the first was far more popular. Other designs such as Crestworth's Telstar which features a flared base were also popular due to their entry-level pricing and utilised Nordic bottles. There were also two Nordic designs by Crestworth which featured the options of placing shades onto them.

A version of the Nordic was also produced and marketed by B.D.O.C Enterprises, which features a brushed metal finish. These are often seen with fast moving glitter and feature very a simplistic construction.

In the early 1990s, the Nordic MK2 design would switch to a glossy black finish and become known as Jet. The Jet, Mathmos' entry level lava lamp would become exceptionally popular. For a short while Jets were produced with glitter bottles known simply as "glitter lamp".

In its earliest mention, Jets featuring glitter were simply referred to as: "glitter lamp" and feature the same Crestworth Jet bases which at this particular moment in time were manufactured from black phenolic and spray painted aluminium. Glitter Jets never shipped with later whole plastic Jet bases.

Early 1990s, Mathmos Jets feature a spun metal cap which is spray painted in glossy black and a base manufactured from spun aluminium and phenolic. This would then transition to plastic caps, then the entire design would switch to plastic with the introduction of the Day-Glo bright series in 1998-1999.

Many ideas were presented to extend the appeal of the Mathmos Jet from translucent versions, to fluffy flocked versions, however the Day-Glo series was chosen. It should be noted although very rare, that Day-Glo bright Jets do exist in a metallic finish, but they are exceptionally rare.

At its peak in the later 1990s Mathmos offered sixteen different models of the Jet, six in black, six in white and four in a rainbow of colours. No other 1990s Mathmos lava lamp has ever been produced in such a high amount of options.

Other Notes by author: 2002, saw Mathmos introduce Jetstream, a slide-on cover that transforms the Jet into a futuristic organic shaped lamp. Jetstream was offered in white and silver finishes.

Mathmos retired all finishes in Jet apart from black in the early 2000s and then Jet was subsequently retired in the 2000s. Who knows, maybe one day we will see it again?

Below: Crestworth Cosmos | The First Nordic Design

One of the most popular glitter & lava lamps of all time is the Mathmos Jet. This 1990s, extremely popular and simplistic lava lamp actually has its roots in the past and can be traced all the way back to the 1960s. When Edward Craven Walker launched the Astro lamp, the world's first lava lamp, he went on to acquire other bottle shapes to create different types of lamps. The third major bottle type following the sleeker thinner Astro Mini bottles would be the Nordic tubular bottle type. These tubular bottles, were first used in Crestworth's Cosmos, the first export market lamp, that was loved in France and sold extensively by Decoverre (Crestworth's distributor in France).

Below: Crestworth Glitterlite | Nordic De Luxe MK1 Design

Crestworth then introduced a new version called Nordic De Luxe MK2, which replaced the cone shaped base for a simpler base design. MK2 was extensively sold with Crestworth's Living Jewel formulation. Both MK1 and MK2 were offered in silver and copper anodic finishes, of which the first was far more popular.

Below: Crestworth Telstar | Crestworth's Entry Level Lava & Glitter Lamp Design ...

Other designs such as Crestworth's Telstar which features a flared base were also popular due to their entry-level pricing and utilised Nordic bottles.

Below: Crestworth Telstar Table Lamp MK1

Crestworth's Telstar lamp was a distinctive Crestworth product that was extremely popular in the vintage years, being the most affordable Crestworth lamp, offered in a whole myraid of different liquid options from slow-moving GlitterLite glitter to fast moving glitter to the Astro bubble liquids.

Crestworth also created a table lamp version which featured the option for placing a shade on the top to offer both functional light and ambient effects. This is just one of many designs created by Crestworth which featured the option of adding a shade ... Images are courtesy of Anthony Voz. Height 17" Base width 5 1/4" Whilst the catalogue material refers to these lamps as 'Glitterlite Table Lamps' it should be noted that packaging for these lamps were double sided. One side shows the lamp with Glitterlite liquids and the other with Astro lava lamp liquids. So it is safe to say that these lamps were sold as either glitter or lava lamps.

Below: Crestworth Nordic Table Lamp MK2

The Crestworth Nordic Table Lamp redefines the combination of Crestworth's fascinating lamps with the option of adding a shade. Known as also the MK 2 Table lamp, these lamps are elegant, functional and always fascinating. MK2 is the more sophisticated of the two Crestworth designs, which has the power cable hidden within the metal structure of the lamp. Image is courtesy of Craig French. Height 21" Base width 8 1/4"

Crestworth Icons of Illumination | Wall Mounted Crestworth Nordic Sconce Design ...

Crestworth created a beautiful and diverse range of Glitterlite lamp designs, from table lamps which featured the option to accommodate lampshades, a stunning wall-mounted model, to their entry-level Telstar design, to the elegant export Cosmos design, to even a beautiful brass finished model.

We particularly love the wall-mounted Crestworth Nordic sconce design which features a backlight option. This design features two switches, each placed on either side of the lamp's design. One switch would switch on the backlight on the top and bottom of the piece. The other switch activates the lamp's main feature, to illuminate the contents of the bottle. The models most often seen, feature the Glitterlite formulation but Crestworth's wall-mounted lamps also featured the Astro lava lamp liquids and if the customer wished, The Living Jewel.

Manufactured by Crestworth in both copper and silver anodic finishes. With special thanks to Christian Schulze-Bäing for the images below of the Crestworth Nordic sconce design.

Glitterlite: Known Colours: Ruby, Emerald, Sapphire (Night Sky), Amber (Autumn Leaves).

Below: Crestworth Living Jewel | Nordic De Luxe MK2 Design

Crestworth then introduced a new version called Nordic De Luxe MK2, which replaced the cone shaped base for a simpler base design. MK2 was extensively sold with Crestworth's Living Jewel formulation. Both MK1 and MK2 were offered in silver and copper anodic finishes, of which the first was far more popular.

The Living Jewel | Crestworth Nordic De Luxe MK 2 Design - Crestworth's Dazzling Fast Moving Glitter Lamp. Crestworth's Living Jewel was a fast moving glitter lamp often sold in the Nordic de luxe MK 2 base and cap configuration. These pieces can easily be identified as they have large pieces of silver glitter and they feature longer caps that Crestworth's Glitterlite lamps often found in Nordic styled lamps. When cold the glitter floats to the top of the lamp and the lamp produces fast motion when the lamp is on. Living Jewel has been seen with clear fluid and a rainbow painted under the bottle and also in: Green, Blue, Red & Yellow colours as stated on the box. Images from multiple sources and with special thanks to Second-City-Bazaar.

www.flowoflava.com Presents | The Vintage BDOC Lava & Glitter Lamp Design ...

Alongside Edward Craven Walker's Crestworth Ltd which was created to manufacture and sell the Astro Lamp, Edward Craven Walker was a pioneer in the field of naturism, creating with his wife Christine, the beautiful and well designed naturist club known as the B.D.O.C (Bournemouth District Outdoor Club). A number of lamps were sold and marketed under the BDOC name such as the tubular design that shares design references with other Crestworth Nordic lamps and the later Mathmos Jet. All Nordic and Jet bottles will work with this design which features the SBC fitting.

These B.D.O.C Tubular lamps feature a very simple construction with a two part spun metal base, finished in a satin brushed spun effect. These lamps also feature a simple plastic end cap that conceals the wiring and features the name and address of the B.D.O.C. An example of a classic BDOC lamp can be seen below ...

Below: The Story & History of the Jet | Early 1990s | The Nordic Becomes the Jet ...

In the 1990s, the Nordic MK2 design would switch to a glossly black finish and become known as Jet. The Jet, Mathmos' entry level lava lamp would become exceptionally popular. These early 1990s Mathmos Jets feature metal caps and some are manufactured from left-over Crestworth parts. A variant of the glossy black Jet exist which features a dull silver base sleeve and cap, however these were retired shortly. This finish has also been seen on Comets of the era. Early Jet lamps feature the Crestworth Trading name and were manufactured using Crestworth parts from the past.

Below: Mathmos Classics | The Jet in the Mid-1990s.

In the Mid-1990s the Mathmos Jet would continue to be produced. In February 1995, it was offered in five colour combinations: Violet/ Red, Blue/ White, Yellow/ Red, Violet/ Orange and Pink/ Orange.

In January 1996, it was offered in five colour combinations: Violet/ Red, Violet/ Orange and Yellow/ Red, Blue/ Green and Pink/ Orange.

Below: Mathmos Classics | Mid-1990s | Jet is offered with glitter ...

For a short while Jets were produced with glitter bottles known simply as "glitter lamp".

In its earliest mention, Jets featuring glitter were simply referred to as: "glitter lamp" and feature the same Crestworth Jet bases which at this particular moment in time were manufactured from black phenolic and spray painted alluminium. Glitter Jets never shipped with later whole plastic Jet bases. Some early versions of these have very few pieces of glitter! These were offered in fun colours and many are seen with bottles painted with glass translucent paint, just like the later Mathmos Glitter Baby lamps.

Below: Mathmos Classics | Late 1990s Mathmos Jet is Black and White Base & Cap Finishes ...

Mathmos mirrors the their line of Jet lamps classically offered in black with white base and cap finishes offered in six different bottle colour-ways: Blue/ Blue, Blue/ Green, Violet/ Orange, Violet/ Red, Yellow/ Orange and Pink/ White.

Below: Mathmos Classics | Late 1990s Mathmos Jet is introduced in Day-Glo colours ...

Many ideas were presented to extend the appeal of the Mathmos Jet from translucent versions, to fluffy flocked versions, however the Day-Glo series was chosen. It should be noted although very rare, that Day-Glo bright Jets do exist in metallic finish, but they are exceptionally rare. These metal Day-Glo Jets feature matt finishes with extremely bright paintwork, that cannot be accurately captured by camera and have to be seen in person. They are extremely bright! The Jet was the last 1990s lamp to a plastic design to facilitate the clip-on lampholder and for speed and cost effective manufacture.

These lamps were produced in Orange, Yellow, Green and Pink. They are often seen with clear masterfluid and colour matching lava.

Below: Mathmos Classics | Late 1990s Mathmos Jet is offered in Sixteen Different Base and Bottle Combinations ...

At its peak in the later 1990s Mathmos offered sixteen different models of the Jet, six in black, six in white and four in a rainbow of colours. No other Mathmos 1990s lava lamp has ever been produced in such a high amount of options.

Below: Mathmos Jetstream | Slide-On Cover for later Mathmos Jets ...

Other Notes by author: 2002, saw Mathmos introduce Jetstream, a slide-on cover that transforms the Jet into a futuristic organic shaped lamp. Jetstream was offered in white and silver finishes, providing a window like view of the lava flowing within.