About Sea Glass Sea glass, also known
as “beach glass” can be found along the shores of oceans, bays, and large
inland lakes in many parts of the world. It is formed from bottles, jars,
tableware, pieces of wrecked ships, or any other glass objects that originally
entered the water as debris and were shattered by the waves and rocks. The
glass shards were then naturally tumbled over time by the movement of the water
and sand into smooth, rounded shapes of frosted color that wash on the shore. Over time, as the water
soaks into the surface of the glass breaking down its chemical components, only
a layer of sand remains. This effect weakens the surface of the glass piece
allowing tiny “c” shaped markings, bubbles, and pits to be etched by the
tidewater environment. The transformation from a broken shard to a soft,
rounded, gem-like appearance can take up to a century for thicker pieces of
glass. For this reason, each piece of sea glass is a unique sampling of history
and many times can be traced to a date according to it’s color, location, and
shape. Up until the 1960’s,
glass was the only type of container available for making bottles and jars.
Today glass production has been replaced by plastics. Recycling is mandatory in
many areas, and dumping garbage into waterways has been outlawed. Over the
years, sea glass is becoming less abundant and more difficult to find. Sea glass is a rare commodity of man-made waste made more valuable by the natural actions of the environment. The rarity of piece depends on the color of the glass. |