Authentic Sea Glass Jewelry

Authentic sea glass jewelry is beautiful and truly unique. In warm ambers, brilliant yellows, rich reds and blues that rival the colors of the ocean itself, these colorful bits of glass add a touch of the seashore to your wardrobe.

Not only are these bits of glass colorful and fun, each piece is also imbued with it's own little history. Some bits of sea glass come from old bits of pottery or glass jars and bottles used to hold everything from beer to medicines.

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Artisans all over world are scouring beaches and designing intricate sea glass earrings, pendants and bracelets, but watch out. Not every piece of glass you see is authentic. Words like 'Ancient glass, art glass, fashion glass and recycled glass' are just another way of saying 'plain, old, ordinary glass'.

You want authentic sea glass jewelry. You want to wear a piece of history that's been polished and frosted by Mother Nature and the ocean.

Sea glass, which is also sometimes called beach glass, is bits of glass and pottery that wash up on both fresh and saltwater beaches. These bits of glass can be pieces of anything from glass bottles, canning jars, windshields, pottery, windows - anything that's ever been made of glass or pottery.

People have always used the seas and oceans, rivers and lakes, as dumping grounds for refuse. It's only been recently that we've stopped littering the waterways. And in the past, before we started using so much plastic, everything came packaged in glass jars or glass bottles or crocks.

So for centuries we've been dumping our glass waste into the oceans and rivers and it doesn't just sink to the bottom. All those bottles and jars get churned up in the waves and blasted by the sand until, years later, the pieces get washed up on the beach.

And what we find on the beaches are bits of colorful glass, with a frosty finish from the constant grinding of the water and sand. Some are also highly polished, like you'd see when you use a rock polisher.

What makes sea glass so popular is it's rarity and the history behind each piece. This combined with the fiery colors and the delicate beauty of each piece are what makes sea glass jewelry so popular this year.

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Sea glass can be found on beaches all over the world but some of the best locations are the United States, Mexico, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Italy, Southern Spain and Australia.

Many people find it fascinating to research old shipping lines and go sea glass hunting in areas where the ancient mariners used to sail. Shipping lanes and ports are especially good areas because long ago the ships just threw their trash overboard as they were pulling into the harbor.

Beaches surrounding the Great Lakes in the U.S. are also ideal hunting grounds. Glass found on inland beaches is often referred to as Beach Glass. It hasn't been tossed around by the sea and it's typically not as weathered as sea glass. But you'll also find varieties that you won't find at sea - like cobalt glass from old Vicks Vaporub bottles.

Where to Look for Sea Glass

Sea Glass is everywhere but the best places to look are on areas of the beach where you see a lot of stones or shells or driftwood. Get off the beaten path because public beaches are often combed to remove rocks and debris and make the beaches look prettier.

The best time to look is just as the tide goes out. If you're in an area where you might have to compete with a lot of other sea glass hunters then arrive at the beach at least a half hour before low tide so you get the first pick.

Sea glass can turn up any time, any where, so you should always be on the lookout and never give up. Some pieces are very small and hard to miss, but once you start learning what to look for you'll start to see it everywhere.

The most common color of sea glass is frosty white or clear, which comes from windows, windshields, and clear glasses, bottles and jars. But kelly green, blue and brown are also common colors, and these come mainly from beer and soft drink bottles.

For every 25 to 100 pieces of sea glass uncover, you'll find one piece of jade, amber, lime green, forest green or ice blue. These pieces come from whiskey bottles, medicine bottles, soda bottles, ink bottles and fruit jars.

A particular shade of green that was used in soft drink bottles from the mid-1900s will turn up in every 50 to 100 pieces you find.

For every 200 to 1,000 pieces you discover, you'll get a piece of cobalt or cornflower blue, which comes from Milk of Magnesia bottles, poison bottles and bottles of Vicks Vaporub. Aqua and purple are also rare, as well as white glass, which comes from milk glass.

Red is a very rare color and only turns up in 1 out of 5,000 pieces. It comes from automobile tail lights, nautical lights, Schlitz bottles and red glassware from the Depression era.

Black and orange are the two rarest colors, and you'll find them after you turn over about 10,000 pieces of glass. Black glass often dates back to the 18th century when they used black glass for whiskey, wine and beer. And if you're really lucky you may also find some pink, grey or teal sea glass that also dates from the Depression era.

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With the wide variety of colors and the deep history that's held inside each little piece of glass, most people prefer to find their own sea glass and make their own jewelry. After all, making a pair of earrings or a pendant from an artifact you picked up during your honeymoon or a special vacation is a way of creating lasting memories.

Many artisans from all over the world are finding there's a huge market from homemade authentic sea glass jewelry. If you're creative and you enjoy making jewelry, then start hitting the beach. There's plenty of room in this burgeoning market.

Even beginners can make their own sea glass jewelry. It has a natural, earthy look, so you don't have to be skilled at creating all those intricate jewelry details. A bit of silver wire or hemp and a few twists and you'll have a lovely, one-of-a-kind piece of jewelry.

Tiny drill bits, tiny sanders, tiny sculpting tools and yes - you can even use a Dremel to cut through your sea glass. If you're creative and crafty you're going to love all the things you can do with a Dremel.