Lava lamps might be
the most cult item
of lighting in the world.
Since their invention in 1963,
millions of lamps have
been sold across the globe.
And while their popularity has
gone through ups and downs,
their instantly recognizable
style isn't going anywhere.
But what actually goes into
creating these iconic lamps?
This simple, yet hypnotic lamp
came from pretty
humble origins.
Inventor Edward
Craven Walker
came up with the
idea after spotting
a handmade egg timer
that used heated wax
in a cocktail shaker.
And after seeing this
and months of
testing his ideas
and adapting this concept
into a colorful lamp,
Walker came up
with his final design:
as it was called at the
time, the Astro Lamp.
The idea was patented,
and Walker started the company
now known as Mathmos.
Mathmos has now been creating
lamps for over 50 years,
and while it's introduced
new designs,
the original remains
its top seller.
So, how is it
actually made?
The process starts with
custom glass bottles.
Glass is blown into the
shape required for each lamp.
Molten blobs of glass
are dropped into a mold.
A machine blows air into the
top of the bottle to shape it,
and the newly shaped bottles
are then released and cooled.
While this is all
done mechanically,
everything is checked
over by hand.
The bottles are inspected,
and any that don't make
the cut are discarded.
Quality control is crucial,
as each bottle needs to fit
perfectly into its housing
and the glass
need to withstand
constant heating
and cooling.
The next part of the
process is metal spinning,
a process that takes
a thin sheet of steel
and bends it around
a spinning tool
to create the
right shape.
Each base and cap
is hand spun,
and then the resulting
pieces are polished.
Once these two
components are finished,
the lamp is ready
to be filled.
The liquid is added
along with a metal spring
that helps distribute
the heat.
The exact formula
of the fluid
is a well-guarded secret,
but there's one
key to it: density.
There are two main
components in a lava lamp:
a colored wax and a colored
solution that it sits in.
As the lamp heats up, the
density of the wax changes
and it begins to
float in the liquid.
When it hits the top, it
cools and falls back down.
Getting the density of these
two ingredients just right,
though, is where the
secret knowledge comes in.
Stephen Sharkey: It wasn't a
room much bigger than this,
but it was
split in half.
Teaspoon,
chemical,
bit of chemistry set,
little bit of this,
little bit of that.
Does it work?
On the other
side was actually
a little bit of spinning
to make the spinning.
And it sort of evolved
from there, really.
Our unique production side
is the bottle filling.
There are only a few
people here on-site
that actually know
the ingredients,
and there are loads of
people in this company
that are not allowed to know
how that product is made.
Narrator: Once the two
liquids are mixed,
the bottle is submerged
in hot water.
This water bath cleanly
separates out the liquids
and stops any wax
that would be stuck
to the side
of the bottle.
Lids are glued on, and the
bottles are ready to go.
Mathmos has sold millions
of its lamps over the years.
The design is so
true to the original
that you could still
buy the spare parts
for a lamp made in 1965.
And at its peak
popularity in the '90s,
it was selling over
800,000 lamps a year.
Sharkey: I think
it represents
the '60s, the 1960s,
when the world
was changing.
The iconic brand, for me,
relates to the fact that
it's still manufactured
here in Britain.
It's still manufactured
in the same process.
It's still built in
the same place.
But more
importantly,
it's still part of
the original design,
which makes it
such an icon.
