| As sea glass jewelry becomes more popular, the | | | | says "genuine" sea glass does not mean that it is. |
| demand for these little jewels of the sea is | | | | Consumers who only want the real stuff need to |
| becoming greater. That is why it is so important | | | | closely examine the pieces before making a |
| for consumers who care whether they are | | | | purchase---or buy only from someone who is a |
| getting real sea glass versus something that is | | | | member of a sea glass association (there are |
| man made to be able to tell the difference | | | | several). |
| between real and fake. | | | | Buying the real stuff means that someone at |
| The real stuff is pretty amazing. The best pieces, | | | | some time was walking along a beach and found |
| those that are smooth and round and nicely | | | | it. That alone adds to its value. |
| frosted, have sometimes been in the sea or lakes | | | | Chances are anyone selling sea glass in bulk, |
| for more than a hundred years. They have | | | | particularly in rare colors, is actually selling tumbled |
| tumbled and broken and tumbled some more until | | | | glass. We have seen bulk lots of red glass, all |
| they are the beauties we find sitting in the sand | | | | nicely uniform, all fake sold on such sites as eBay. |
| at low tide. Real sea glass has a history, because | | | | Red pieces are extremely rare and highly sought |
| it is part of our history, those old bottles and | | | | after. They are usually considered the Holy Grail |
| tableware that got discarded off of ships or were | | | | for sea glass hunters because they are so rare. |
| thrown into the sea, are now coming back to us | | | | Only 1 in 5,000 pieces of glass found on beaches |
| as little gems. | | | | is red. So what are the chances that someone |
| Fake beach glass is still glass, but it has been put | | | | has 100 pieces of it for sale on eBay? It can |
| into a tumbler and smoothed mechanically. Some | | | | sometimes take a beach glass hunter years to |
| manufacturers will use old glass to get | | | | find even a single piece of the more rare colors, |
| highly-sought-after rare colors. The pieces tend to | | | | such as red, orange, and yellow, representing |
| be more uniform and have fewer flaws. The | | | | hours upon hours of searching. That is why you |
| pitting will be uniform, and fake pieces tend to | | | | should be suspicious of any advertisement for |
| have a less frosted look. Just because something | | | | large quantities of those colors. |