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Making Matters: Achieving a glow from within

2026-08-28T08:50:00

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The varnish of many Cremonese makers seems to glow from within – but how did they achieve this without knowledge of optics? Tamás Guminár investigates – and argues that one secret ingredient may be kaolin

For centuries, violin makers have been fascinated by the chatoyancy (aka the ‘cat’s eye effect’) found in the varnish of Stradivari violins, as well as in other beautifully crafted instruments. The varnish iridesces; it refracts light differently when the instrument is moved, giving it the appearance of being illuminated from within. This is the so-called ‘inner light’ that many have written about…

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