Reactive Cap Mistake

Unfortunately when I don't label my clear reactive glass, I sometimes mistake it for CLEAR glass.  In my
next clear reactive adventure, I planned pendant and earring pairs to make stunning and creative sets.  I had a couple of crimson and gold with some earring choices, a couple of black and white and a stunning bright green with yellow.  As in other jewelry pieces, I started with my color on the bottom, added an enhancement in the middle, and capped the pair with a clear top.  Below are three sets of crimson and gold button earrings. 

Three sets of crimson and gold earrings with clear reactive cap.

These might actually be quite stunning if the cap added on the top would NOT have been clear reactive instead of clear......true clear would have allowed the red and yellow colors to shine through at their intense best.  As you can see, the reactive creates a lovely overcast cloud of translucent white.

Crimson and gold pendant with reactive cap.

Above is the pendant to go with the earrings.  If you look closely, you can see the crimson around the edges and the gold band from the bright yellow stringer, that runs horizontally in the top portion of the shape.  I am not sure what caused the central air bubble, but there is an even better example of this phenomenon I will share.

The crimson and gold reactive cap set

Second crimson and gold pendant with bubble blow out during firing. 

I am not sure why this pendant developed such a large bubble in the middle.  This bubble was so large, in fact, that it burst while the piece was in the kiln.  There was not a reaction between these two pieces of glass that I am aware of, and no glue or moisture was used to assemble the piece.  As you can see in the first crimson and gold pendant, an air bubble formed right in the middle of the piece, as well.  I am very curious about the "explosion" in this piece.  If it were a "keeper," I would grind down the rough edges of the burst, fill the cavern with fine, clear frit, and re-fire the piece.  As it is, trash is trash, unless it is worth the time and firing charge to experiment with repair.......Not this time!