The visionary art of making glass eyes

Werkzeug und Material auf einem Tisch — Matthias Buckel's workshop Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Unterschiedliche Glasstäbe in weisstönen liegen auf dem Tisch — Everyone has different shades of white in their eyes Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Aus einer Glasstange wird eine Kugel geformt — A glass tube being heated. Buckel turns it around, creating a thin pipe at one end and a ball at the other Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Matthias Buckel wählt eine Farbe für die Iris aus — Selecting a colour for the iris Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Er gestaltet die Iris mit dem Bunsenbrenner — The careful creation of an iris Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Glaskugel wird wieder erhitzt — A pupil is added using a stick of black glass which is melted on Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Rote Glasfarben auf dem Arbeitstisch — Glass sticks used to draw red blood vessels Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Er macht rote Aederchen — Tiny red veins appear around the iris Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Eine Schachtel voller Glasaugen — Buckel has around 300 prosthetic eyes which he takes to clients. He adapts them on the spot using a Bunsen burner Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Milena Buckel stellt ein Glasauge her — Buckel's daughter Milena, an artist by training, is learning the art of glass blowing. To make a faultless eye, a skilled person would need to practise for three to four years Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Glasaugen auf einem Tisch welche noch nicht so gelungen sind — Milena is gettng there, but the eyes still aren't perfect Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Matthias Buckel zieht din Hinterteil des Glasauges ab — Glass eyes are not round. To hollow them out, Buckel sucks through a glass tube, forming a hemisphere Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Innenseite eines Glasauges — A full, round eye would be too heavy and uncomfortable Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Mit beiden Händen umschließt Matthias Buckel das fertige Glasauge — The work of art is ready! Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Eine Klientin wartet auf ihre neuen Augen — The false eyes have to be swapped every two to three years. This client needs two new glass eyes Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Vier augen auf dem Tisch, welche die Kundin getragen hat — Since one's body changes, the shape of the new eyes is also subtly different Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Matthias Buckel und seine Tochter am Arbeiten — Matthias Buckel concentrates on tweaking two new eyes. He needs around an hour per eye Ester Unterfinger/swissinfo.ch

Eyes, it is said, are windows to the soul. But what if you lose one through accident or illness? Matthias Buckel is a master in the art of manufacturing glass eyes, which are personalised for cosmetic and medical reasons.

This content was published on November 4, 2017 - 11:00

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After a serious accident when he was young, Buckel had to give up his chosen profession of theatre artist. He then developed an interest in his father’s craft: glass blowing. Werner Buckel taught his son how to blow glass, having picked up the skill from his uncle, Ernest Greiner.

Greiner came from the glass-blowing village of LauschaExternal link in the Thuringian Forest in Germany. The village is famous not only for Christmas tree decorations like baubles but also for the manufacture of special glass. Matthias BuckelExternal link still uses cryolite glass, a glass with mineral additives from Lauscha.

Ernest Greiner settled in Geneva in 1896. Since then, the family business has supplied glass eyes to all of western Switzerland. Across the country, some 5,000 people have an artificial eye. Today, Buckel is passing his knowledge on to his two daughters.

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