Time and tide transforms broken shards of glass from garbage dumps, some centuries old, into shimmering soft edged jewels highly sought by beachcombers who create works of art and fine jewelry from a product of man's refuse. Years ago before the advent of plastic and garbage collection, used bottles were often buried in the sand or thrown in the ocean, but now with modern day recycling centers, sea glass is becoming a rare find.
The colors of Sea Glass
Often called mermaids tears, beach glass, or lucky tears, the colors of sea glass vary, but are predominately light green, blue and clear. from such sources as beer, juice and soda bottles. Older and more rare colors are dark green, aqua, purple, pink, a popular color during the Great Depression and the very rare, red which comes from nautical lights.
An unusual form of beach glass is called "Campfire Glass" a molten piece of glass that made its way into the water to be tumbled about and smoothed by the wave and sand action. Glass blowing factories often located near a water source. At the end of a day of glass blowing, the colorful remnants were tossed in the water.
How to Find Sea Glass
Sea glass is found along the beaches of oceans and lakes all over the world, but success comes with researching the local history of the area; where the garbage was dumped in the past, boat traffic patterns, and knowing how the tides affect the area. Best results are found after storms where you can see a wrack line of debris.
Sea glass sometimes gets trapped in the vegetation that the storms have washed up. A bright sunny day is helpful as the sun can catch the glint of the glass making it easy to spot. There are websites that list the best beaches in certain areas of the world and beachcombers are encouraged to send in a favorite area. One such website is Odysseyseaglass.
Many who have begun collecting sea glass as a hobby have turned it into a business. making jewelry and fine art work such as mosaics, sea glass incorporated tile back-splashes for kitchens and bathrooms to name a few. A well known expert and author is Richard Lamotte, Pure Sea Glass who has written the book also called Pure Sea Glass, a great resource in the science of sea glass that tells where to find it, how to identify sea glass and its historical significance. Also in the book are over 200 lovely photos of sea glass by photographer Celia Pearson.
Some of the sea glass in the accompanying photos was found in Vernazza, Italy. A beach vacation would be a perfect start for a hobby of a lifetime.
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