Sea Glass is just broken glass & not coral or anything natural

[sculptress]

Just wanted to clear up things regarding what exactly "sea glass" is.... it's broken bottles! Not coral or shells or any other naturally occurring phenomena! It's very weird how people are getting excited to find these pieces of glass debree that are worn and smoothed away in the sea over time. They might look pretty after aged but they still are just broken pieces of glass.

 

I read on a past post that this whole sea glass collecting idea is just Bermuda's way of getting rid of trash. They cart out all their glass trash in a boat out to sea and dump it. After it washes to shore as sea glass, tourists collect it and bring it home with them, thus basically bringing home Bermuda's glass waste with them. Hmmmmmmm:confused:

[jtl513]

I read on a past post that this whole sea glass collecting idea is just Bermuda's way of getting rid of trash.

And you believe this? :confused::confused:

[parrotthead]

:confused:

I think most people know this...

 

[CtheW0rld]

i found sopme sea glass in the faroe islands. pretty sure it was not from bermuda. :D

[parrotthead]

:confused:

I think most people know this...

 

Guess I should have finished my thought...

"I think most people know this"...that SeaGlass is just glass that has been smoothed by the surf. I think is pretty.

:)

[jtl513]

Guess I should have finished my thought...

"I think most people know this"...that SeaGlass is just glass that has been smoothed by the surf. I think is pretty.

:)

I understood what you meant. Sometimes we find a piece on our beach that you can almost tell what kind of bottle it was.

 

OP: think about the problems if intentionally-dumped broken glass started washing up before it was smoothed enough! :eek::eek:

[madelinerose]

Not coral or shells or any other naturally occurring phenomena!

 

 

Who here thought this? :confused: :rolleyes:

[karenj4546]

We went out of our way on our trip to get some of this....the cabbie was incredulious, "you want to go pick up broken glass? I could break a bottle for you and save you the trip" ...until he saw the stuff. I'd bet that it'll be a routine stop for him now! The two girls who collected it say that it's by far the best thing they got on the trip, and each of them spent some hard-earned money for the rest of their "treasures". Yes, it's broken bottles, but it's REALLY pretty!!!

[CRUZBUDS]

Diamonds are just carbon- under a lot pressure and lot of heat for a very long time -- I still think they're pretty ;)

[jbhcw]

My grandmother had sea glass collected from Baja and Southern California..she kept it in a beautiful clear glass bowl..I always loved looking at it when we would visit...think my brother got it though...so I am hoping to perhaps get some next year in Bermuda.

 

It may be just broken glass but when it's smooth and frosted looking..it's enchanting IMHO:)

[iheartbda]

Just wanted to clear up things regarding what exactly "sea glass" is.... it's broken bottles! Not coral or shells or any other naturally occurring phenomena! It's very weird how people are getting excited to find these pieces of glass debree that are worn and smoothed away in the sea over time. They might look pretty after aged but they still are just broken pieces of glass.

 

I read on a past post that this whole sea glass collecting idea is just Bermuda's way of getting rid of trash. They cart out all their glass trash in a boat out to sea and dump it. After it washes to shore as sea glass, tourists collect it and bring it home with them, thus basically bringing home Bermuda's glass waste with them. Hmmmmmmm:confused:

Unbelievable!

 

Why do you think it's called sea glass in the first place? Never have I seen anyone think that it was coral or shells.....they might ask how it gets so smooth but have never mistaken it for anything but what it is.

 

Carting it out to sea? Bermuda getting rid of their glass waste?

 

........shaking my head in in utter disbelief.

[Travalot]

Just went to google images to view sea glass. Thanks for my "pretty stuff" photos of the day.

[Two@Sea]

Diamonds are just carbon- under a lot pressure and lot of heat for a very long time -- I still think they're pretty ;)

 

Couldn't let that one go by without acknowledgement... :D

[Luna]

Oh good grief!! I don't know anyone dumb enough to think sea glass is anything but that! It *is* very pretty and collecting it provides me with free objects to make into jewelry.

[trvlcrzy]

... and cleans up litter from the beach, right?

[CtheW0rld]

slow day on CC. we need a good smoking thread...

[Charles4515]

Just wanted to clear up things regarding what exactly "sea glass" is.... it's broken bottles! Not coral or shells or any other naturally occurring phenomena! It's very weird how people are getting excited to find these pieces of glass debree that are worn and smoothed away in the sea over time. They might look pretty after aged but they still are just broken pieces of glass.

 

I read on a past post that this whole sea glass collecting idea is just Bermuda's way of getting rid of trash. They cart out all their glass trash in a boat out to sea and dump it. After it washes to shore as sea glass, tourists collect it and bring it home with them, thus basically bringing home Bermuda's glass waste with them. Hmmmmmmm:confused:

 

I think that is well known. That is that sea glass is worn and weathered from broken glass. However I don't think it is tossed out with the ideas that tourists are going to collect it. Bermuda also sends it's sewage out to sea, they have no treatment plants and I don't think they expect tourists to collect that!

 

By the way where you find a lot of sea glass is also where the sewage is dumped.

[3rdGenCunarder]

Oh good grief!! I don't know anyone dumb enough to think sea glass is anything but that! It *is* very pretty and collecting it provides me with free objects to make into jewelry.

 

Beach glass jewelry used to show up a lot at craft fairs around here, not so much lately. I have several pieces. I like that kind of funky jewelry. (I like the compressed carbon, too, but sea glass is a lot cheaper)

 

When we were kids, we used to pick up sea glass at the beach. We used to call it "pirate glass," and we considered it great treasure.

 

Arrrrrrrrrr! [imagine a skull and crossbones smiley here]

[terigo]

I personally am not a collector of anything, but if people enjoy the look and feel of the tide-worn glass, who am I to ruin it for em?

Around here, there is the annual "Shark's Tooth Festival", and thousands of people collect shark's teeth they find along the shoreline...

Ya gotta admit, the glass is prettier! :)

[catl331]

Sea glass is also bottles with messages in them that people throw into the sea. Living in a town that is on the ocean, I can personally tell you that much of the glass on the beach is NOT nice and smooth and pretty. It can send a child to the ER when they step on it. Oops! It is trash and should not be in the ocean!! In Kauai there is a beach that is supposed to have collectible sea glass that is from an old trash dump. Makes it really exciting to me. Just think of it as old beer bottles and the beauty disappears!!

[Laurie S.]

I remember collecting sea glass in Nassau back in the late 1950s as a child. Bottles end up in the sea, break, and wash up on shore. What's the big mystery?

[Niele da Kine]

Some friends of mine collected seashells, sea glass and other pretty things on the beach while they were building their house. When they made the front door, they made a wooden framework and then cast the sea glass and shells in the framework with fiberglass resin. It's a beautiful door. They haven't collected much sea glass since then, though.

[topspot]

The Travel Channel used to have a show named Cash & Treasures (which then changed its name to Treasure Hunter the second season). One of the episodes was about Sea Glass. Apparently it is used in jewrely making, and some of the more rare colors (reds, oranges, purples, etc.) can be worth a few bucks.

[dmrcruise]

Many artists use sea glass in their work. I work at gallery in Key West where we have artists that makey jewelry, fan pulls and even chandeliers from sea glass. Sea glass can be naturally occuring, which is what washes up on beaches, or man made. Many artists will cut and tumble pieces of scrap glass to get specific colors and shapes. Most naturally found sea glass will be white, green, brown and blue. Other colors, such as red, are rare because they are less often used in commercial glass due to the expense. When you see pieces with pastel colors or a lot of red chances are its tumbled glass.

[sculptress]

Many artists use sea glass in their work. I work at gallery in Key West where we have artists that makey jewelry, fan pulls and even chandeliers from sea glass. Sea glass can be naturally occuring, which is what washes up on beaches, or man made. Many artists will cut and tumble pieces of scrap glass to get specific colors and shapes. Most naturally found sea glass will be white, green, brown and blue. Other colors, such as red, are rare because they are less often used in commercial glass due to the expense. When you see pieces with pastel colors or a lot of red chances are its tumbled glass.

 

WOW....I'm so glad to see the great amounts responses to my post on sea glass! I guess I was partially wrong about "sea glass". I too am an artist, a sculptor, who appreciates all forms of art. I thoroughly appreciate your educational comments on sea glass and will be sure to look for those naturally found sea glass colored ones. :p