SOLID CORE SWIRLS

Solid Core Swirls come in several different forms, though the one pervasive trait all have is that the core appears solid, with no or at the very most minor openings. Like Latticinio Swirls, the base glass is almost always colorless, though on rare occasions it may be colored.

The core may be cylindrical or it may have lobes, and it may either be transparent or opaque. Single colored cores are usually cylindrical and are truly "solid," while multicolored cores are often comprised of tightly spaced bands. On the latter type, the bands may be situated in such a manner as to give the appearance of lobes if the core is observed from above. Solid colored cores often have strands on their surface, either straight or twisted around the core. Sometimes these strands "float" well above the core; in such cases the marble is considered "trilevel." The most common core colors are yellow and white when the core is solid colored; otherwise a wide variety of colored bands may comprise the core.

Like Latticinio Swirls, Solid Core Swirls almost always possess an outer design that most often consists of alternating colored bands or sets of typically white and/or yellow strands. When strands occur at equidistantly spaced intervals and are very close together all the way around the marble, the marble is considered "caged." "Naked" specimens lacking the outer layer are not uncommon.