What is Seaglass / beachglass?

Sea Glass or beach glass is created when nature has taken something humans have discarded and turned it into a beautiful one of a kind gem.

Sea glass originally comes from a unique mixture of broken antique bottles, ampules, medicine pots, jars, dishes, art glass, nautical lamps or car lights, perfumes bottles in fact anything glass that has found its way into the oceans.

Well, I guess you could say essentially it is rubbish! But as glass is basically a natural material it really is testimony to the inventiveness and power of nature that something once manufactured for use by humans and then discarded or lost can be transformed through the power of water and the endless action of the waves into a beautiful one of a kind gem! 

Sea glass is also a totally recycled material and completely earth friendly as no mining processes, polishing or chemicals are used to create them. Simply the natural endless motion of the sea and the pebbles and sand to slowly grind the glass into its new form. 

Glass is actually an incredibly hard material and in order to create the soft rounded shapes and frosted appearance of genuine sea glass it takes at least 20 to 40 years and as much as 100 to 200 years, to acquire its characteristic texture and shape. As a general rule the thicker the pieces or pebble, the older the original glass. 

This can mean as far back as ancient wine ampules and cargo from sailing ships being transported from Europe to the Americas or back. Even cargo stolen by pirates and hidden or lost at sea... it is impossible to ever know the exact source or journey of a piece of sea glass but each piece has a unique watery story to tell. 

Sea glass has many other colloquial names and is also referred to as 'drift glass' or 'beach glass' but it is truly a unique and beautiful item with a special connection to  the ocean.

Always a joy to take a walk down a windswept beach, look down and sea a beautiful bright treasure from the ocean waiting to be found.