Mathmos Review: The Original Lava Lamp

In 1963, Edward Craven Walker, a British inventor, watched a homemade egg timer bubbling on a stove in a pub. It gave him an idea. He invented the "Astro Lamp." He called his company Mathmos (after the bubbling force in the movie Barbarella).

Today, cheap Chinese copies are everywhere. But the original Mathmos lamps are still made in Poole, Dorset.

The Formula: A Secret

The "Lava" is a mix of wax and carbon tetrachloride (historically, though the formula has changed for safety). Mathmos keeps the formula a closely guarded secret. Chinese knock-offs go cloudy after a year. The wax breaks up. A Mathmos lamp stays clear. The flow is hypnotic. The wax separates and recombines in a way that cheaper lamps just don't achieve.

The Design: The Astro

The Astro is the original 1963 design. Metal base, glass bottle, rocket shape. It is a design icon. It is in the Design Museum. The metal is spun in Britain. The bottles are filled in Poole.

The Verdict

A Mathmos Astro costs £90. A copy costs £20. Why pay more? Longevity. Mathmos sells spare bottles. You can keep a lamp going for 50 years. It is the ultimate "low tech" gadget. No wifi, no bluetooth. Just heat, light, and fluid dynamics.

Pros:

• The original.
• Clear fluid (doesn't cloud).
• Spare parts availability (crucial).

Cons:

• Takes hour to warm up.
• Gets very hot (not for kids' bedrooms unsupervised).

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