A UV-absorbing, polarizing glass article and method of making, the glass having an R.sub.2 O-B.sub.2 O.sub.3 -SiO.sub.2 base glass composition, a sharp spectral cut-off at about 400 nm, a precipitated crystal phase consisting of a halide selected from the group composed of cuprous, cadmium and mixed cuprous-cadmium halides, the crystallites in the crystal phase being elongated, and a portion of the crystallites near the surface of the article being at least partially reduced to colloidal copper, whereby the article exhibits permanent dichroic behavior.