Bimini Glass: from
the Glass Encyclopedia

Bimini Glass was set up in Vienna in 1923 by Fritz Lampl together with his brothers-in-law Artur and Josef Berger, who were architects. Bimini made very fine pieces in a style sometimes mistaken for 1950's Murano glass, with filigree opaque swirling stripes, little figures and animals. However, Bimini glass is much lighter than most Italian glass. It was usually marked with labels, which are often missing now. The Bimini logo is shown at the top of this page on the left.

The name Bimini was taken from a poem by Heinrich Heine dated 1852 which describes Bimini as a miracle island with the spring water of eternal youth. Fritz Lampl was a poet and publisher before he began Bimini. Fortunately Bimini glass was an immediate success.

In 1938, with the war in Europe imminent, Fritz Lampl emigrated to England where he re-established Bimini Ltd in London. He built his glass furnace in the basement of his house and changed the name of his new operation to Orplid Glass. The Bimini name was discontinued and during the war years (1940-45) Lampl had great success with his Orplid glass and ceramic buttons and brooches. His glass was frequently featured in design and fashion magazines. After the war foreign imports flooded the UK market. Lampl's small hand-made operation could not compete with mass-produced buttons from countries such as Czechoslovakia and the company struggled on until Lampl's death in 1955.