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Seaglass

Seaglass is a collaboration between the beach and a litterbug. Glass bottles discarded on the shore are tumbled by wave action over time, transforming them into rare treasure. The finish on the surface of a piece of seaglass is difficult to duplicate. Machine tumbled glass is smoother, and though it is often referred to as "seaglass", an experienced collector is never fooled.

The most common colors are brown, white and green. You may find light blue from old bottles. A friend of mine found a big chunk of light blue sea glass that said 1784 and was stamped with the seal of the King of England; clear proof that some of the glass has been around a while.

Dark blue comes from old Milk of Magnesia bottles and Noxema containers. In my Maine town the garbage dumped in the woods was the same as that dumped on the beach, and we have spent many buggy hours digging through old bottle dumps verifying sources.

Pinks and yellows were probably decorative items. Light Purple comes from a chemical change in the white glass that occurs when it is exposed to sunlight. Red is extremely rare, as it comes from taillights and running lights and occasional decorative items. Old red glass was made using gold and is quite a find. I have seen only 2 pieces of true orange sea glass in all my years- (your guess is as good as mine…)

Seaglass is a finite resource. In the 15 years we have been in business the amount of glass has declined to the point where on some southern Maine beaches seaglass is only a memory. The fact that seaglass is slowly disappearing from the beaches makes it all the more special and exciting to find, and many people share the fun. If you love seaglass I hope that next time you break something made out of pretty glass you will throw it in the waves at low tide to give back a little grist for the mill.

Check out a full array of seaglass jewelry in the Gallery!