Acrylic glass, also known as Polymethyl Methacrylate (PMMA) is a lighter, shatterproof alternative to glass and so versatile it’s used in applications from drum kits to dentures!
PMMA has a good degree of compatibility with human tissue, which makes it ideal for body jewellery. Acrylic is used in medical applications such as replacement lenses in the eye in the treatment of cataracts. Dentures are often made from acrylic as they can be colour-matched to the patient’s teeth and gums.
Acrylic body jewellery is particularly good for tongue piercings as it’s less likely to damage teeth, being lighter than other materials.
Acrylic was first brought to market in 1933 and was famously used to make the gun turrets of the B-17 fighter planes in World War II. It’s still used in in aviation today in plane windows and by NASA in space shuttles. It’s also used in motor racing for car windows and helmet visors.
Did you know acrylic is bullet proof! Well when it’s over 32mm thick, where it’s used in the US Presidential motorcade & the Pope’s mobile.
Acrylic is particularly good for larger gauge piercing jewellery. Acrylic expanders are much lighter than their counterparts in steel.
Musician John Bonham from Led Zeppelin is well known for using acrylic drums called Vistalites, made by Ludwig-Musser. Salvador Dali used perspex as a surface to paint on and many artists still use acrylic paint to this day.
Acrylic is particularly versatile as it can be easily moulded into all sorts of shapes, and coloured in almost any tone you can imagine! Neon acrylic piercing jewellery is particularly popular right now, it’s the 80’s vibe all over again!
Acrylic is ideal for display tanks in aquariums like the 112 metre long tunnel in Deep Sea World that holds over a million gallons of water. The curvature of the 6.5mm thick acrylic makes everything appear about 30% smaller, including the sharks!
With so many applications it’s easy to see why acrylic is such a good material to make body jewellery.