Sea Gems

For many years now I have been making a collection of jewellery with beach glass, predominantly earrings and necklaces. They are now my most popular selling item of all time.  The infatuation for sea glass in me (and others it seems!) runs deep, there is something so magical about it. The hunt for it. I'm forever scouring the beaches in search of that coloured ‘gem’.  

When I first started making jewellery with it, I used a personal collection that I had hunted and gathered during my time living in Mallorca.  After selling out of it, and living in Melbourne at the time, I realised I needed to outsource this precious discarded treasure.  Luckily I found and have continued to source it from a beach glass appreciation society based on the West Coast of USA. This keeps the demand flowing, and I’ve also managed a little hoard of my own searching from various parts of the world over the years.  I’ve also had many people over the years give me their findings, out of pure generosity. Unfortunately the pristine beaches where I live now don't really work in my favour with beach glass (but I'm not complaining either!)

The colours!  The colours get me every time.  They all have a provenance.  Many elements dictate the rarity of them, the area they wash up, the era they were made in, the type of use it had.  In fact the details of each colour are a truly fascinating insight into consumer history, oftentimes indicative of the trials and tribulations of the global effects of war, economical depression, and pop culture.   

Here are some of the rarer colours, and the common possible origins of them:

Seafoam green - 1 in 50 pieces - possibly early 1900s, old Coca-Cola bottles 

Bright lime green - 1 in 50 pieces - beer and soda bottles

Amber - 1 in 25 pieces - beer bottles & medicinal jars

Pastel pink - 1 in 1000 pieces - US Depression era 1930s glassware

Cornflower blue - 1 in 500 pieces - pre 1900, Milk of Magnesia & Vicks Vapor rub bottles

Cobalt blue - 1 in 250 pieces - medicinal bottles, castor oil & ink bottles

There are even rarer colours such as red, yellow, turquoise and black.  If this information on colour really interests you, head over to this fantastic Guide to Origin & Rarity and read up.  

If you have any special pieces you've been lucky enough to find and treasure, maybe you'd like to have them made into a pendant or a set of earrings. Such as these incredible extremely rare red pieces that were made into 2 sets of earrings in 9ct yellow gold.

The best part about these pieces?  No two are ever the same, yet I continue to be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to pair up two for a complimentary set of earrings.  Just odd enough to be asymmetrical, yet they work perfectly in unison. 

Originally posted October 5, 2017