Let's examine how the French-owned, China-based company, Rockwood Glass, creates tailor-made glass bottles for its world-renowned clients. It is a 1-stop shop for all steps of bespoke bottle and closure design, manufacturing, packaging, and delivery.
Its factories are known for producing glass bottles of superior quality, thanks to both the know-how, and the on-site state-of-the-art manufacturing technology. The company has six production lines for glass bottles alone. Despite being based in China, Rockwood Glass adheres to European quality control (QC) standards, ensuring that every bottle that leaves the factories is free of blemishes and imperfections. Rockwood's Quality Control processes
Bottles are often designed to be visually appealing, as well as functional, and are made using a variety of manufacturing techniques. The first step to bottle production consists of determining the volume, design, and shape of the bottle. Rockwood’s in-house account managers and design teams collaborate closely with each client. The clients provide input on the size, shape, and originality of the desired result, as well as on their estimated order forecasts and budget. They can choose to create a more traditional and common shape or an exclusive design that could even stand alone as a work of art!
Once the concept has been agreed upon, Rockwood’s 3D designers bring the tailored bottle and its cap (closure) designs to life for final approval. The prototype is then finalized and will serve as the mold for the production of up to 10 million bottles. Molds are replaced free of charge after they sustain significant wear and tear.
During production, glass is heated in a furnace that reaches 1600 degrees Celcius (2900 degrees Fahrenheit), until it becomes molten. The molten glass is poured into the mold to take shape. The annealing process of cooling the glass within the mold begins, in order to relieve it of any internal stresses, thus making it more durable. After the bottle has cooled, it is removed from the mold and sent to the finishing station.
Once in the finishing station, the bottle is inspected for any defects or imperfections. If there are any defects, the bottle is discarded and the process is repeated. If the bottle is deemed to be of expected quality, it is sent for further processing. This can include polishing to remove any rough edges, applying a label or design to the bottle, or adding a cork or other closure.
Choice of glass for bespoke glass bottles
Rockwood Glass produces glass bottles in a variety of colors and qualities. The bottles can be made of flint glass, which is a clear and colorless glass that is commonly used for wine and liquor bottles. They can also be made of super flint glass, which is a high-quality, ultra-clear glass that is often used for premium spirits and cosmetics. Black glass and cobalt blue glass are also popular options for bespoke glass bottles, as they provide a distinctive look.
Overall, the manufacturing process for glass bottles is complex and requires a high degree of skill and expertise. Rockwood Glass has a team of experienced glassmakers who are dedicated to producing high-quality bottles that meet the exact specifications of their clients. By using the latest technology and adhering to strict quality control standards, Rockwood Glass has established itself as one of the leading manufacturers of bespoke glass bottles. Whether you are looking for a unique packaging solution for your product, or simply want to create a one-of-a-kind bottle for a special occasion, Rockwood Glass can help you bring your vision to life. And it doesn’t end there...
Rockwood also has its own bottling factory in an Export Processing Zone (EPZ or duty-free zone) just South of Shanghai. As such is can provide a cost-effective filling service, with no legal requirement to mention the country in which the filling took place on the label.
If you are interested in discussing a future collaboration with Rockwood Glass, don’t hesitate to contact us for a free consultation.
You’re interested in creating bespoke ceramic bottles? Then check out the Rockwood Ceramics website here.
Rockwood is the largest French-owned glass and ceramic bottle factory in China. It produces over 6 million exclusive bottles for some of the most prominent premium brands in the global spirits and beverages arena, and a further 500+ million classic bottles, annually.
Glass is an excellent example of a Silk Roads trade-good whose pattern of exchange can be used to further understanding of the societies, economies and interactions of the diverse civilizations of the past. In the case of glass, the key developments in its production, design and export took place predominantly in the Mediterranean, the Iranian Plateau and the Arabian Peninsula. However, Silk Roads trade also left many traces of glassware across China and the South East that predates the eventual production of glass locally.
Glass was first produced more than 3500 years ago probably somewhere in Mesopotamia or Egypt. The Roman historian Pliny believed the Phoenicians were the first to make glass in around 5000 BCE. However, the earliest evidence of glass production in the archaeological record dates from around 3500 BCE. Glass was then traded from the regions around the Red Sea to the East throughout the first century CE where it has been found in archaeological sites in the Far East providing considerable evidence for far-reaching trade-relationships and the interactions of different cultures that occurred consequently.
Although Glass did not play as important of a role in arts and crafts in China when compared to ceramics and metalwork, glassware was imported to China from regions to the West during the late Spring and Autumn period (771-403 BCE). Imported glass can be identified in the archaeological record by its composition, typically soda-lime glass, which differs from that which was later produced in the region itself. Archaeological excavations have revealed imported glass eye beads, which were considered valuable objects, across South East Asia in the Philippines, Thailand, Java, Sumatra and Borneo. In South China, glass beads have been found in not only the tombs of nobles but also in those belonging to regular citizens.
Furthermore, mosaic purple glass Roman bowls made from the same soda-lime silica glass, have been uncovered at sites in China. Bowls of this type were popular across the Mediterranean during the first century and reached China via Silk Roads trade. Additionally, at the eastern port of Nanjing, Roman glass has been uncovered in tombs from the Eastern Jin (317-420 CE) period. Later, pieces of Sasanian (224-651 CE) glassware from the Iranian Plateau were brought to China via the overland Silk Roads and these spread to the north of China before reaching Japan via maritime routes.
Similarly, glassware from the 5th century discovered in Silla tumuli (burial mounds) in the Korean Peninsula again is of a chemical composition (containing alkali) dissimilar to glass produced in ancient Chinese glass, suggesting it is of Roman origin.
Studies have indicated that glass making with local materials did not begin in China until around the 4th or 3rd century BCE. Compound eye beads were amongst some of the earliest glass products made in China and these were imitations of those produced in Western Asia.
There is considerable evidence for far reaching trade relationships involving the exchange of glassware, which stretched across the Silk Roads, and concurrently of the cross-cultural interaction, which took place in terms of the incorporation of different artistic and stylistic elements within glassware production.
See Also
Silk Roads exchange and the Development of the Medical Sciences
Silk Roads Exchanges in Chinese Gastronomy
Mathematical Sciences along the Silk Roads
The Role of Women in Central Asian Nomadic Society
Ancient Trading Centres in the Malay Peninsula
Sri Lankan Harbour Cities and the Maritime Silk Roads
The Use of the Malay Language in Coastal Javanese Literature