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Different Colors of Vaseline Glass

Vaseline glass is a type of uranium glass, which is glassware that has had uranium added to the glass mix before melting. Vaseline glass reached its peak in popularity in the 1920s. It owes its name to its transparent yellow or yellow-green color, similar to petroleum jelly. Other differently colored uranium glass pieces are often called Vaseline glass as well.

Yellow or Yellowish-Green
- True Vaseline glass typically has a transparent yellow or yellowish-green color due to its uranium content. Some transparent yellow or yellowish-green glassware has been colored with additives besides uranium, however. The best way to tell the difference is to expose the glassware to an ultraviolet light in the dark, which should cause true Vaseline glass to glow bright green.
Green
- Green uranium glass has about a tenth of the produced mass of traditional yellow Vaseline glass. This type of glassware is sometimes called "Depression" glass, and collectors value it less than true Vaseline glass.
Blue
- Blue glass is not uranium glass, although auction houses sometimes advertise them as "Blue Vaseline."
White Opaque
- Often referred to as "Custard" glass, this glassware is genuine uranium glass and will glow brightly under ultraviolet light.
Other Colors
- There are a variety of other uranium glass colors. Some are incorrectly referred to as Vaseline glass, and some have no uranium content at all. The only way to tell for sure is to expose the glass to ultraviolet light; Vaseline glass has a green fluorescence.

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