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- Mirrors
Gila Timur offer an unprecedented range of mirrors, in all styles, ranging from Traditional, Oval, Rustic, Modern, Wood and Overmantle. We have probably the largest collection of mirrors in all of Hertfordshire. Check out the categories to the right, and have a look to see if you can find something you like. We have enough to cater for all tastes, and budgets. Don't forget you can visit our shop. We have over 15,000 square feet of showrooms
- Lounge & Living Room
We're sure you'll find something in our Lounge and Living room section. You'll find Oak, Teak, Pine and Mahogany furniture, from all across the globe. Pine furniture from the UK, Contemporary Oak furniture from Lithuania, and Ethnic furniture from India, Bali, Indonesia and Vietnam. Everything is here to make your home a unique place, from CD and DVD storage to sideboards and coffee tables. Whatever your taste, we're sure there's something for you, just waiting to be discovered
- Dining Rooms
We truly do shine when it comes to Dining Rooms. From traditional Oak tables, to stunning Tamarin table slices (Check our Distinctive Dining range here), that will enhance any setting from the ordinary, the extraordinary! Come in and browse our showrooms, and witness for yourself what we have to offer. If you're after an Ethnic feel, again, you won't go far wrong with Gila Timur. We have such a broad range of furniture styles, that seeing really is believing
- Unique, Ethnic & Asian
Our Unique, Ethnic & Asian range of furniture, is what sets us apart from everyone else. We feel you won't find a range of items to match us. Our close ties with our friends in Asia (read our Why Are We Green? page) put as in the enviable position of being able to offer you something that the rest can't. Our site goes some way to exampling that. Browse our site, and have a good look at our products, and if you want a closer look, find out how far we are from you using our Get Directions Button
- Accessories
From Petrified Wooden Coasters, to bowls and plates, our Accessories section is vast, and all encompassing. Whether it's picking up something that just catches your eye, or going for an item that might set off your room in a subtle but unique manner, we have a great range of items here that are well worth your time browsing
- Office
Tired of office furniture with no character? You are sure to find something here to remedy that. Pick up something that will transform your workplace into a workable environment! Our office furniture comes from all over the world, and we're sure whatever feel you're after, we can offer you something both practical and stylish
- Bedroom
We have some exceptional bedroom items. Our UK based pine furniture showcases our more contemporary products, whilst our Oak bedroom furniture from Lithuania exemplifies our more stylised,classic range. We also offer some more obscure items too... but we're certain that whatever your budget you'll find something that will suit your taste, and wallet
- Recycled
We are immensely proud of our links to Recycled, and Environmentally Friendly Furniture. Have a look at our amazingly unique products, all of which are "one offs" in the truest sense of the word. We feel these products showcase Gila Timur's uniqueness as a furniture shop. Even if you're not looking for something along these lines, you might be tempted once you see what these itmes have to offer...
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Mirrors - Manufacturing
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Mirrors are manufactured by applying a reflective coating to a suitable substrate. The most common such substrate is glass, due to its transparency, ease of fabrication, rigidity, and ability to take a smooth finish. The reflective coating ("silver") is typically applied to the back surface of the glass, so that it is protected from corrosion and accidental damage. Glass is much more scratch-resistant than most substrates.
In classical antiquity mirrors were made of solid metal (bronze, later silver) and were too expensive for widespread use, as well as being prone to corrosion. Due to the low reflectivity of polished metal these mirrors also gave a darker image than modern ones, making them unsuitable for indoor use with the artificial lighting of the time (candles or lanterns).
The method of making mirrors out of plate glass was invented by 16th-century Venetian glassmakers on the island of Murano, who covered the back of the glass with mercury, obtaining near-perfect and undistorted reflection. For over one hundred years Venetian mirrors installed in richly decorated frames served as luxury decoration for palaces throughout Europe, but the secret of the mercury process eventually arrived to London and Paris during the 17th century, due to industrial espionage. French workshops succeeded in large scale industrialization of the process, eventually making mirrors affordable to the masses, although mercury's toxicity remained a problem.
In modern times the mirror substrate is shaped, polished and cleaned, and is then coated. Glass mirrors are most often coated with non-toxic silver or aluminium, implemented by a series of coatings:
- Tin(II) chloride
- silver
- chemical activator
- copper
- paint
The Tin(II) chloride is applied because silver will not bond with the glass. The activator causes the tin/silver to harden. Copper is added for long-term durability. The paint protects the coating on the back of the mirror from scratches and other accidental damage.
In some applications, generally those that are cost-sensitive or that require great durability, mirrors are made from a single, bulk material such as polished metal.
For technical applications such as laser mirrors, the reflective coating is typically applied by vacuum deposition on the front surface of the substrate. This eliminates double reflections (a weak reflection from the surface of the glass, and a stronger one from the reflecting metal) and reduces absorption of light by the mirror. Technical mirrors may use a silver, aluminium, or gold coating (the latter typically for infrared mirrors), and achieve reflectivities of 90–95% when new. A protective transparent overcoat may be applied to prevent oxidation of the reflective layer. Applications requiring higher reflectivity or greater durability where wide bandwidth is not essential use dielectric coatings, which can achieve reflectivities as high as 99.999% over a narrow range of wavelengths.
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