www.fiberopticmuseum.com | Presents The Iconic Astro lava lamp | Crestworth & Mathmos | Inventors of the lava lamp ...

Crestworth (now known as Mathmos today) are world renowned for being the inventor of the Astro lamp, the world's first lava lamp. A British inventor, Donald Dunnett believed that if time could be measured with sand in an egg timer, that the same could be achieved with liquid and set out to create an object that was patented as a display device. Today his invention is often invisible, but it was the seed of the idea that would inspire Edward Craven Walker to develop the Astro lamp. Edward Craven Walker imagined a new form of lighting that would present two interactive liquids that would capture the imagination of the people of the 1960s and the 1970s. The lamp became a worldwide success and is widely regarded as an icon that is a definition of the ethos of its time. This colourful flowing bubbling lamp has been presented in endless colour combinations over the decades such as Ruby-Rose, Violet-Orange and Blue-Blue over the years, to name just a few.

As Crestworth grew as a company, it continued to change the world of lighting and the way people perceive lighting with new designs and technology with Glitterlite, Aromalite, Twiggy and many other lighting technologies. Crestworth moved into a range of fibre optic lights to create some of the most people designs in fibre optic technology. At www.fiberopticmuseum.com, we will focus on the following Crestworth models: Galaxy, Phantomlite (Super Phantom via a supplementary base), Crystalite and Snowflake. In the 1990s, Mathmos went on to create a selection of fibre optic designs such as: Jupiter 2, Starburst and Fibre Space.

www.fiberopticmuseum.com | The Original Astro Lamp - Favoured for its Charm.

The Original Astro Lamp - Favoured for its Charm.
Perfect Anywhere. Designed to suit any mood, any decor - in the home, office or public place. The 'professional' extra for waiting rooms, halls and reception areas. Metal parts gleaming copper anodic finish.

www.fiberopticmuseum.com | The Astro Lantern - Traditional Beauty.

The Astro Lantern - Traditional Beauty.
All the fascination of the old hurricane lamps - the comfort of a ship's light in a storm. Authentic coppper anodic finish. Port and Starboard models.

www.fiberopticmuseum.com | Nordic & Telstar Design - Distinctively Scandinavian Design.

Astro Nordic - Distinctively Scandinavian Design.
A favourite in modern homes and in hotels, clubs and executive suites. Tasteful colour combinations. All metal in up-to-the-minute silver or copper anodic finish. Particularly suitable for contemporary decor. Another Nordic tubular design featured a flared base and was known as Telstar.

www.fiberopticmuseum.com | Astro Mini - A design that will enhance the attractions of any room.

Astro Mini - A design that will enhance the attractions of any room - has the clean, handsome lines of ageless good taste. Perfect for table settings and as a decorative piece for all occasions. So graceful! - ideal for use in pairs. Smart copper anodic finish to metal parts. Colours to choice. Tastefully designed to enhance the decor of any living room, these lamps combine the best in modern design with the simplicity of traditional lines.

www.fiberopticmuseum.com | The Traction Lamp.

The Traction Lamp - The romance of the steam age captured by present design techniques with the soothing movement of turning wheels - throwing a light on the power of the past!

www.fiberopticmuseum.com | Glitterlite Glitter Formulation & Design.

Glitterlite - Ruby - Emerald - Sapphire - Amber - All the scintillating luxury of these precious stones is captured in the outstanding beauty of the new "Glitterlite".

www.fiberopticmuseum.com | The Crestworth Galaxy - The very latest thing in decorative lighting. First launched in 1973.

The Galaxy - The very latest thing in decorative lighting. Crestworth's Sensational New Galaxy. The safe glass fibre optic lamp.
Tens of thousands of minutely fine glass fibre optics artistically arranged to create an ever-moving, swaying sea of light, gently changing from one vivid colour to another.
Indescribably lovely - a veritable galaxy of enjoyment, with its patent "sealed unit" to contain the sharp, penetrating glass fibres in complete safety - away from inquisitive hands.

Two versions of the Crestworth Galaxy have been seen, one with optics which virtually touch the edge of the patented darkened dome and the other with features shorter optics within. The later is the more popular design of the two. Click here to see our special Crestworth Galaxy Gallery ...

www.fiberopticmuseum.com | The Crestworth Phantomlite introduced in 1973.

Phantomlite - A stunning design that features a semi-spherical base that is pudding sized and was a very popular Crestworth design. Phantomlite can also turn into a much larger lamp with the use of a supplementary base to create the Super Phantom. Different sized fibre optic sprays have been seen with this product. We love the pink box! With Special Thanks to Nick & Callum Carr for the wonderful images of their Phantom Lite & Super Phantom.

www.fiberopticmuseum.com | The Crestworth Phantomlite returns in the very early 1990s.

Phantomlite also returned in the very early 1990s under the Crestworth Trading name (which would later be known as Mathmos) and a particular example of this dating to 1991 features a beautiful glossy black metal finish, can be seen below.

www.fiberopticmuseum.com | The Crestworth Snowflake Fibre Optic Lamp.

The Snowflake by Crestworth was Crestworth's flagship fibre optic lamp, seen in a myriad of different metal finishes, with automatic colour-changing and spray rotating. Unlike Galaxy, Phantom Lite and other Crestworth designs, this lamp featured a rotating spray which makes the lamp's light show even more kinetic. Snowflake was later known in the early 1990s Crestworth Trading (Aka Mathmos) years as Cosmos. Images are kind courtesy of Pieter Willems, Nick Carr and Callum Carr.

www.fiberopticmuseum.com | The Crystalite Fibre Optic Lamp. First launched in 1975 by Crestworth.

The Crystalite - This is the latest addition to our range of fibre-optics, having an attractive illuminated glass base, together with a unique "flick-action" colour change. Although this lamp uses the same high quality glass fibres as the Super Phantomlite, its price is kept even lower because it uses a conventional bulb (with a special reflector) rather than the most expensive tungsten halogen bulb. With special thanks to George Tilley from English Thorn Proof Clothing for his images of the Crestworth Crystalite.

www.fiberopticmuseum.com | Crestworth Flowerlite | Colour-Changing & Rotating Flowerlite Fibre Optic Light

Below: Crestworth Flowerlite Images kind courtesy of Jed Paterson. Certainly Crestworth's most traditional fibre optic design was the Flowerlite, which presents colour-changing, illuminated, flowers, gently rotating in a smokey perspex enclosure. Beautifully photographed by Jed Paterson for www.fiberopticmuseum.com, Flowerlite by Crestworth featured automatic colour changing via a rainbow wheel located in the base of the lamp, which adds visual interest to the display. Unlike cheap copies of Flowerlite, the level of detail of Flowerlite's optics, is simply stunning and would have been the perfect illuminated decoration for the home of this period.

A vintage news cutting from Monday 9th July 1979 by The Birmingham Post is of interest:

"Flower Power - Hand-made flower lamps, shaped out of fibres which change through six different colours, are being shown by Crestworth Limited (A 6). Mr Peter Farr, sales and products promotion manager, says: 'We hope that they will really take off this Christmas. They will retail at about £50'. The range consists of an orchid, a lily, and a hibiscus, all of which revolve as they change colour."