Prismatic Sheets of Glass Change Color When Layered Over Each Other

Crystal prisms are dazzling spectacles that refract light, slowing it down into different wavelengths that produce a variety of rainbow hues. With this phenomenon in mind, designers Thomas Vailly and Laura Lynn Jansen have created 101.86, a project that artificially reproduces the natural properties of a crystal found in the highlands of Iceland. The qualities of the stone have been translated into sheets of clear, treated glass. When they’re layered over one another, the refracted light allows new and brilliant colors to emerge. The glass also has a kaleidoscopic effect–as its rotated, the hues instantly change.

Vailly and Jansen studied the Icelandic crystal and also worked with scientists at the Museum Boerhaave to recreate its incredible color-morphing effect. Once successful, the designers then applied their technology onto a clock–as the hands move throughout the day, they tell time through color, creating new combinations with every passing hour.