Nitin Striped Glass Christmas Bauble - Gold

Nitin is a round glass Christmas decoration in gold, 10cm across, with fine horizontal stripes running around the whole ball. The stripes are ribbed, so the surface carries a texture you can see and feel rather than a flat painted line, and the gold picks up light along every ridge. At the top sits a metal cap with a small ring, threaded with a thin string for hanging. It is made of glass and iron and weighs 0.13KG.

At 10cm across it is a good size for the front of a full Christmas tree, where it holds its own among smaller baubles rather than disappearing into the needles. It also suits a garland draped along a mantelpiece, a bare branch in a vase, or a window where daylight can catch the ribbing. At 0.13KG it wants a firm branch or a hook rather than a slender tip. It suits anyone dressing a tree in warm metallic tones, and it sits happily beside greenery, wood and paper ornaments, or gathered in a shallow tray or bowl as a table display through December.

Glass and iron are its two materials, and you can see where each sits: a glass ball, and a metal cap and ring at the top that take the string. The ribbing runs in close, fine bands from the cap down to the base, so the ball shimmers as it turns on its string. Glass is hard but brittle, so a bauble like this is best wrapped on its own in paper when the decorations come down. For styling, hang several at different heights across a tree and let the gold stripes stand out against dark green needles, or tie one to a wrapped gift with a sprig of greenery.

How big is the Nitin decoration?

It is a round ball 10cm across, large enough to stand out at the front of a full Christmas tree or along a mantelpiece garland.

What is it made of?

It is made of glass and iron: a glass ball with ribbed gold stripes, finished at the top with a metal cap and a small hanging ring.

Does it come ready to hang?

Yes. A thin string is threaded through the ring on the metal cap, so it can go straight onto a branch, a hook or a garland.

How heavy is it?

It weighs 0.13KG, so we would hang it from a firm branch or a sturdy hook rather than the slender tip of a tree.

Are the stripes printed on or textured?

They are ribbed, so the stripes have a texture you can feel as well as see, and the gold catches the light along each ridge.

Can I use it away from the tree?

Yes. It works hung from a bare branch in a vase, in a window, along a garland, or gathered with other ornaments in a shallow bowl or tray as a table display.