I read a year or more ago that the art of making glass eyes is being lost to the world. I don't remember the reasons, except that it's a difficult task and not enough people are learning it and maybe that insurance companies aren't paying enough/as much (so there's not an incentive to do it anymore). I remember seeing pictures of the products of these artists. They were something to behold. So beautiful.

I can imagine a glass eye being very heavy. I have two fake eyes, both plastic. Neither was cheap, but both have been excellently made. A real craft. The thing that required most attention was fitting them… shaving them down to fit my interior prosthetic. That took the best part of two hours.

I used to do a bit of work at Madame Tussaud’s. There they preferred glass eyes to plastic ones for the quality of their shine. It was fun watching them being installed… they were pushed in from the back of the head.