On the left is one of fifteen General Electric 300 watt Silvered Bowl that I got from the 'bay. On the right is the Sylvania version. Other than the brass base, the silvering is darker on the GE and when lit, the bowl appears black as opposed to grey. I have been looking for the older lamps since 1979.
The reason for the grey color in the inside coated lamp on the right is because the glass absorbs the light and somehow a little of it shines through the glass in front of the coating. The outside coating on the left prevents this, although it is more prone to stratching than the inside coated ones, so treat them with care. I have some Westinghouse 60w silver bowls from the 50s, outside coated, and others as well.
The very first time I saw the lighter silvered bowl lamps was in the first grade school I went to. The auditorium was lit with three ring Saturn lights above and below the balcony and four ringers in the main atrium. All had silvered bowl lamps except for two of the four ringers on the right side which had clear lamps. When I was in the first grade, they changed both of them out to Silvered bowl lamps and when they were turned off, I thought they were white.
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