Sea Beach Glass and Seaglass - Genuine VS Artificial

Genuine Sea And Beach Glass

GENUINE SEA GLASS ARTIFICIAL "SEA" GLASS
Genuine, authentic sea glass is glass (a bottle, a dish, an old window pane) that was once discarded, unwanted and tossed out to sea as refuse. It may have found its way to the shorlineafter beingwas thrown overboard from a ship. It may have been barged out for dumping by a cargo ship. Or it may have been pushed off the edge of a sea shore town's landfill bluff.
No matter how the glass reached the ocean, we are finding that years and decades later, it is turning up along our beaches as gems with smooth edges and a frosty surface. A truly mature piece can be so well rounded and without blemish that it looks more like a marble than a sharp edged shard. The photo (above left)is genuine, rare, West Coast Sea Glass hand picked by me, the writer of this guide. The photo (above right) is machine tumbled, recycled, artificial "sea" glass. We aren't quite sure why this kind of manufactured glasshas theword "sea" in the title as the pieces have never touched an ocean.
Sea glass and beach glass is found on beaches all over the world. Some of it can be centuries old but most of what is found is most likely 100 years old or less. Why? Because mass production of bottles began in the early 1900's. That's when glassware became much more gemon in the avg. household and thrown out after being broken or unwanted.
It takes many years out in a natural body of water for a piece of glass to begee smoothed, softened and frosty. Thatfrosty pitted surface iswhat manysea glass hunters and collectors admire. It cannot be mimicked exactly by a mechanized process or by a chemical bath.

Some natural factors that help to create a high quality piece are, consistent, aggressive wave action, a rocky or pebbly shoreline, salt content in the body of water and dramatic tides. All of these factors can add to the quality of a good piece of authentic sea glass.
Please mark this guide helpful if you've learned something. It is still-under-construction. Thank you.
Mary Beth - West Coast Sea Glass - President, North American Sea Glass Association 2005-2010