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Origin Authentication Display And Use Seaglass Colors Size And Shapes How To Find It Buying Seaglass Further Reading |
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which has been transformed into smooth polished gems by natural tumbling in the sea. 
Origin Shipwrecks with glass bottles and fixtures aboard, decades of ocean dumping, as well as careless littering from beach goers and boaters, all contribute to the worlds sea glass collection. Sea glass has earned a recent wave of popularity as the beauty and increasing rarity of these gems is becoming apparent. There are more sea glass collectors combing the beaches, and new crafty ways of displaying their collections. Sea glass is becoming increasingly rare as bottles and other containers which were made primarily of glass in the past are now being made of plastic. Vigilant efforts by environmentalists to end ocean dumping has also reduced naturally ocean tumbled sea glass to a limited quantity. While it is always disheartening to find newly broken glass or other garbage on the beach, lovely gems of well tumbled frosted sea glass is like finding lost treasure.  Note: I wet some of these pieces before photographing to show their true rich colors. Dry, these pieces have a more frosted appearance. Also, many beaches churn out much more rounded pieces. Some of these were relatively "fresh". Authentication I find it ironic that glass is made primarily of sand, then it is returned and transformed once again by the sea from which it was born. Ocean tumbling, sandy bottoms polishing it,and salt erosion turns a sharp edged broken piece of glass into a rounded gem with a lightly frosted appearance. Also, throughout the process, small "C" shaped markings appear. This is a good indication that the piece you bought is authentic. It can take decades for a piece to come ashore from a shipwreck. After a storm when the wrecks are tossed about, new sea glass makes its way ashore. I have sometimes caught pieces still being brought ashore floating along in the waves. Traditional means of displaying sea glass are either grouped in jars, or strung up for mobiles. I would like to emphasize "mobile" rather than wind chime. Glass is delicate. While having glass bang around in the wind probably makes a lovely sound, it is glass and will chip and break. Shore town gift shops are loaded with inspiring designs . I've also seen sea glass used as frame accent pieces, lamp decorations, wall trim inlays, and more. A popular way of displaying larger pieces is to grout them into end tables, then cover it all with raised glass. For making jewelry with the smaller finer pieces, there are techniques for creating wire "cages" so the glass is perfectly perserved. I am personally against "drilling" sea glass. While it can be done successfully by a skilled jeweler, many lovely pieces have been destroyed that way. There are some wonderful jewelry designers on eBay! Sea Glass Colors Sea glass is found in a variety of colors. The color often gives a clue to the origin and era of the piece. Rare Red and orange is often from older cars which used red glass for taillights, or from ships lanterns. Black was commonly used for gin bottles, and blue was often used as the glass color for medicine bottles. I've found many translucent pinks, which may have once graced a victorian parlor as a vase. A large cobalt blue triangle reminiscent of the heart neckless in the movie "Titanic" was also a happy find.You can get alot of information about the origins of sea glass from bottle collectors books and websites. This information can help you to date the pieces you find by matching eras of commonly used glass colors and uses. The salt of the sea erodes it with a chemical reaction that gives real sea glass a frosted appearance and feel. Pieces often look completely different wet than dry. A still wet or freshly washed piece appears smooth, and is translucent. When wet, the true color of the glass can be seen. When dry, the frosting can hide the true color of the glass. A pale pink piece can appear white, for example. Commonly found white, clear, green, and brown can often be found sold by the ounce or pound. Rarer colors of good quality and shapes will reasonably cost more. Sea Glass Sizes and Shapes Varying sizes and shapes add to the uniqueness of each piece. A long tumbled bit may end up small and round like a pebble, while newer pieces can still be quite large and even have distinguishable markings from the glass manufacturer. Triangles are common shapes, while hearts are rarer, and sometimes triangles are also referred to as hearts. Long thinner pieces are called "shards" in the sea glass trade. It is not uncommon to find several pieces of identical color and similar shapes during the same glass collecting outing. It is possible to find bits and pieces of the same plate or bottle nearby each other on the same shore . Similar shapes of the same color make great earring pairs. There is also what is know as "camp fire glass". It is usually found as rounded bits that can have a melted appearance. This glass has actually been burnt in a fire, with several possible causes, in additon to it having been in a camp fire. Controlled burning in olden days was a regular garbage disposal method, also many of the sunken ships went down ablaze. Whole marbles are sometimes found as well. Ever wonder what happened to the marbles that rolled down your storm drain in the street when you were a kid? Apparently alot of kids had their marbles wash down storm drains. Some sea glass collectors specialize in marble sea glass collecting. ( A gentle reminder that what goes down storm drains end up in our Oceans!) How to Find Real Sea Glass Yourself Ocean beaches are the best place to find sea glass, at low tide. Free online site specific charts can be found at www.saltwatertides.com for planning your trip. Look right at the waters edge, and where it will wash ashore left behind by the higher tides. I have found that the best places to look are where there are pebbles. Also, go to where ever the seagulls are hanging out. Sea glass is light, and tends to float in with some of the light bits of stuff that seagulls like to eat. As the popularity of sea glass has increased, so have the beachcombers looking for it. The mystery and intrigue of the origin of your found glass is that it can take decades to wash in after a ship wreck, or the pieces you are finding may be broken beer bottles from last years clam bake. Either way, its all good fun.  Buying Sea Glass When buying sea glass on eBay! Recommended Reading This book is full of detailed useful information for the seaglass collector. The photography is absolutely stunning! You'll find the book to be a nice tranquil escape you'll want to revisit often. You won't find a better book on Sea Glass. My sister surprised me with it for my birthday last year. It makes a really nice gift (Thanks Di!) As a child, I can still remember the joy in finding a ruby red heart shaped sea glass gem on a gulf coast beach in Florida, and sharing the find with my sister. I'm beach combing with my sister once again off the Atlantic coast beaches where we both now live. I am intrigued by the amazing colors of the older glass we have been finding. There are nearly 1000 sunken ships laying out off the Atlantic coast. The pirate "Black Beard" was responsible for many of them. With each storm new glass is exposed, and it begins the journey ashore. Even on beach combing trips where no glass can be found the rejuvination of the soul brought about while spending a day at the beach is never wasted time. |