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Bromo Blue Neon Signs

As you may already know, we design a lot of real neon signs, as well as a whole range of other illuminated signage. But we want to share a bit of fun information about real neon signs – and in particular, Bromo Blue neon glass. It’s one of our most popular glass colours, and when we talk about Bromo Blue neon with customers, they’re sometimes interested in why it’s called that. So here we are 🙂

Let’s go back step a step for a minute. When a customer contacts us and asks us to design a real glass neon sign for them, we go through various questions, but one of the most exciting parts is discussing the glass colour that they’d like. A lot of the colours have quite boring technical names why betray how exciting the colours actually are – Violet 15 and Pink 402 for example – but others have far more exciting names. Those such as Ruby Red, Citrus Orange, Emerald Green and Bromo Blue. The first three of those names give an immediate indication of the colour, but Bromo Blue doesn’t necessarily. And there’s a good reason for that. The official name for it is Cobalt Blue, but certainly here in the UK, all neon signmakers that we know of refer to it as Bromo Blue.

With thanks to a photo discovered by Robert Haus, the nickname for bromo blue neon glass stems from it being exactly the same colour as Bromo-Selter, developed by Isaac E Emmerson in 1888. Bromides, being a type of tranquilizer, were prevented from being sold in 1975, but the name lives on in various forms:

Through film, Bromo was referenced in The Postman Always Rings Twice.

Through TV, Bart Carny said “No surgeon can save you, no bromo can soothe you”.

Through neon signs – Cobalt Glass is now commonly referred to by us, and many other neon signmakers, as Bromo Blue.

So there you have it. If you want the coolest, super-funky stunning blue neon glass that’s the EXACT same colour as used by Isaac E Emmerson’s Bromo-Seltzer then ask for Bromo Blue neon glass when discussing your neon colour with us 🙂