Sea Glass Collector's Resource

Sea glass, sometimes called beach glass, is glass that has found itself in bodies of water and over time has been polished by the natural tumbling of the waves. Any kind of glass can evolve from sea trash to sea glass. Once tubled smooth various colors of glass can be collected as individual pieces for a collection or be crafted into or included in works of art. In fact sea glass has even found its way into the annuls of Hollywood in the movie Cider House Rules. Sea glass has found its way into craft jewelry, filling jars, wedding decoration, and flower arranging.

Types:

  • Rounds - bottle bottoms
  • Patterned glass - glass that still retains some of it's original imprinted name brands or patterns
  • Campfire glass - glass that has been melted in a fire and then worn smooth

Colors:

Common colors are Green, Brown & White and are widely used today.

  • Green Glass comes in a wide range of shades and hues. Heineken bottles, rolling rock, and lots of red wines and champagnes come in green bottles. Other shades include lime green (source unknown), seafoam green,(possibly old coke bottles or new wine jugs).
  • Brown glass can come from older and newer glass. Sources of brown glass include Budweiser and other beers and liquors, as well as old purex, clorox bottles, and medicine bottles.
  • White glass can come from nearly anywhere including window glass, boat glass, old milk bottles, clear beer bottles, and so on.
The rare colors like red, blue, cobalt blue, lavender and others can be harder to trace.

  • Cobalt blue has many sources including Milk of Magnesia, Noxema, Alka Seltzer bottles, jars, and tubes.
  • Red is less obvious but may be from a beer called "Red Bottle Beer" and possibly boat running lights, sea bouys, or decorative glass.
  • Lavender has an interesting history - the chemical used to remove glass' normal green tint, like an old coke bottle, came from Germany. During W.W.I the chemical could not be acquired and the replacement chemical turned glass lavender over a period of time. Knowing this you can date a piece of this color fairly closely.
Take caution when you find cut-rate pricing on sea glass. The laws of supply and demand don't change, and rare genuine beach glass is unlikely to be found at unbelievable prices. It's hard to distinguish between genuine sea glass and manufactured or faux sea glass Some artisians create fsg because everyone wants Blue and Red, and to find 2 pieces of blue (for example in earrings) that are similar in shape size and color from a "natural" source can be even harder and rarer.

To find Sea glass yourself, look along shorelines, look among the pebbles, shells and other flotsam, you'll sometimes find these lovely man made nature crafted gems. Beach Glass can be found on rivers, ocean shorelines and bays. The more current or wave action, the more likely that you are to find smooth glass. It takes approximately one year for the glass to turn translucent, but can depend upon the environment and glass type.

Sites where sea glass has been found include:

  • Cranberry Island beaches of Maine
  • Lake Ontario
  • North Carolina
  • Nova Scotia
  • Massachusetts
  • Florida.
  • Long Island

Don't forget to bookmark or add us to your favorites before running off!