Aussie farmer makes first sapphire glass

A New South Wales wool producer and artist has created the world's first sapphire infused glass.

Peter Crisp has spent 18 years refining the ability to infuse precious stones in glass on his family property near Yass.

The martini glass showcases 226 light blue sapphires and goes on display in London today as part of an international silent auction tour.

Crisp says the glass was difficult to make.

"I hold my breath - when you're starting to put precious stones into glass there are two or three firings and, of course, every time you put glass into a kiln and you fire it you run the risk of cracking and, of course, you have to make sure the stones fuse properly into the glass," he said.

"So through a lot of trial and error I've succeeded."

Crisp says it can be expensive work.

"I've had disaster with diamonds - diamonds go cloudy - I've had problems with emeralds," he said.

"I've had some terribly expensive mistakes."

Crisp says he wanted this glass to be opulent in every possible way.

"The tradition of the cocktail glass goes back to the 1920s. It was during the 1920s and 1930s when people were sort of creating these magic potions and obviously mixing drinks ... that they created, they decided then that they should really have a special glass and then cocktails evolved," he said.

He says the glass is architecturally inspired.

"During the early 1920s, architecture was suddenly seeing high rises - New York was becoming a city of high buildings and skyscrapers. So to me there was an architectural element that I felt that I had to put into my glass," he said.

"It is architectural. There are lines that stretch from the bottom of the stem at the base of the glass all the way up.

"It's an exaggeration using both gold and platinum."

Crisp says the proceeds from the eventual sale of the glass will go towards medical research.

"Half the proceeds will come back to the Cure for Life Foundation here in Australia ... and the other half will stay with the European cancer foundation."