Almora is a range of proprietary novelty bulbs created by San Jose-based decor company Urelas. These are handmade mirror-coated bulbs that give out a firework-like effect when turned on. However, not much is known on the internet on how these seemingly impossible bulbs are even made. Well, here’s the answer.
Almora bulbs are made in a simple 4-step process. While Urelas makes their own base bulbs, many other manufacturers simply import the base LED and work on the shell to give it’s landmark final design.
Step 1: Assembly of an LED filament bulb
Almora bulbs work on the same core principle that any other LED does. With the exception of its shell, everything else works like the ‘Edison’ LED bulbs that use LEDs that are shaped like filaments to give a classy feel.
Step 2: Mirror coating
After the filament is assembled, a mirror coating is applied to the bulb’s outer shell. This coating is the defining feature that separates Almora bulbs from Edison bulbs. A thin layer of Aluminium-based reflective coating is applied on the inside of the shell.
Step 3: Poke holes
This is the only part of the process that is manual, and it needs to be done with utmost precision. Right before the aluminium reflective coating dries off, small holes are made by poking in the coatings. These ‘holes’ allow some light to escape while getting reflected by the opposite side of the reflective coating.
Step 4: Final assembly
After work on the shell is done. All parts of the bulb are assembled and sent out for testing. Almora bulbs are tested in a mix of manual and automated testing lines after which they are approved.
The general span of an Almora bulb is between 15000-20000 hours. Since Almora bulbs are made of filament LEDs and not wireframe ones, their life span is smaller than typical LEDs. However, it is to be noted that these are decor novelty bulbs and will most likely not be used all the time.
You can get your Almora bulb for just $14.99 (including shipping) from Urelas here.
