Sea glass - what exactly is it?

Sea glass , "seaglass" or sometimes "beach glass" is glass which is found on beaches after having been tumbled smooth and frosted by the ocean waves over an undetermined length of time.



Some of the glass I have found is very old, from an era when glass was far more widely used, and attitudes to the environmental damage caused by dropping litter into the sea were somewhat different to what they are today.

There is an infinite variety of colours of sea glass, and of course every single piece of sea glass is totally one off, having been on its own unique journey through the tides and currents of the ocean.

Some sea glass has travelled great distances, washing up on shores far away from where it was originally dumped, whilst other pieces have stayed trapped for decades in harbours, dropped by sailors and smoothed and tumbled by the tides whilst yachts and fishing boats go by.

Around the coast of Cornwall, we find lovely sea foam, aquas, pale greens, deep greens, and whites. These shades to me, represent the colours of the sea in Cornwall, and are the perfect choice to reflect the unique coast of my favourite place! Much rarer colours found on Cornish shores include blues, certain greens and deep aquas, and lavender.

Grey, pink, teal, black, yellow and turquoise and red (found once in about every 5,000 pieces), and orange (the least common type of sea glass), are all extremely rare colours. Rare sea glass in these colours is almost certainly rarer than diamonds.

The older pieces tend to be smoother, and rounded in shape, whilst the newer pieces wash up in all manner of squared or flat shapes. In jewellery all different shapes are used , and to great effect. The special 'glow' of sea glass, the way in which each piece catches the light in a different way, and the variety of subtle shades - pale aquas, frosted whites, palest blues to deepest colbalt blues and of course the array of greens all add to the magic and mystery of sea glass.

Recently my passion for genuine Sea Glass has led me to look for this increasingly rare commodity further afield.

I have managed to source some amazing examples of glass, some of which are at least 100 years old, that were discarded from an old glass processing in the North East of England, at Seaham in Durham. I have started to design around these pieces of glass, and I really love the pieces I've made.

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Sea glass ashes pendant in recycled silver

This sea glass pendant is a little different from my usual pieces. I have made a couple of these before, see earlier post here . I think they are a wonderful way to keep the memory of a loved one near.

It is a piece of precious remembrance jewellery, in the true sense of the word.

I constructed the pendant charm to have a little secret chamber inside, and I put a tiny amount of ashes into it, a silver cover on top and then I set the sea glass on top of that.

The ring is stamped with the words "FREE AS A BIRD NOW" in Cornish.

".... The pendant has arrived Kate, worth waiting for, it's beautiful, thank you so much. I have posted it on my Facebook site, you may possibly hear from others who would like something from Glasswing, I know that other women who have suffered bereavement are always looking for new ways to remember their loved one.
...... I hope you have a great Christmas, and thank you again for your work. Best Wishes, Julie C"

You are very welcome Julie, and warmest wishes to you x

Satin finish recycled diamond engagement ring - TOTALLY conflict free!

This quite chunky recycled silver recycled diamond 6mm wide engagement ring features an 18 carat recycled gold bezel with 4.5mm 0.3ct Harmony recycled diamond.  It's quite a statement ring. When I initially recieve an enquiry from a customer, we work closely together to realise their exact design to create their perfect engagement and wedding rings.  

I source each recycled Harmony diamond especially, from the ethical bullion and diamond supplier, Hoover and Strong, according to each customer's requirements and budget. Having recycled diamonds in your engagement ring guarantees your beautiful ring is totally ethical, with no risk of having contributed to the promotion and supporting unethical supply chains and work conditions.  Not only that, many of the diamonds sourced from vintage jewellery are particularly well cut, and can be super sparkly and pretty.

I have had a lot of satin finish commissions this year, and I particularly like the contrast of the soft brush texture next to the bright uber-crisp sparkle of the diamond in this one.

It is paired with a 4mm D-shaped recycled sterling silver wedding band, also in satin finish.

That's more like it.....

Great beach, big sky ~ bliss

This was the view in my right eye as I lay down on the sand today. This evening the wetsuits are drying in the garden. There is sand in the hallway again. Beach life is back. All is well.

I'm going to resist to urge to describe at length the sheer joy and rare relaxation I felt watching the children playing on their bodyboards, in a large pool left by the retreating tide. Or the unexpected pleasure of watching two smiling teenage boys spontaneously doing Duelling Banjos (well, one had a guitar) on the rocks behind us, and everyone's grateful appreciation of their music, young or old. Suffice to say today was just a stonkingly lovely day.

So with things back to normal on the beach front, there has not been much time for blogging. Last week in the workshop was productive though, using the sea glass we found in the new cove we discovered. Here are some of the new sea glass earrings, these and the rest can be found in my Etsy shop.

Another pair of stacker earrings, which I love. They hang at just around 3" long. My pair are getting loads of compliments. This pair is made with 2 pieces of sea glass, rather than recycled glass. Finished with subtle frosted recycled beads.
These are cold forged sterling silver, with pale aqua and white tone sea glass, found on our secret Cornish cove, and hand drilled in my workshop. The 'spines' of the earrings are hammered flat to prevent the beads coming off - really simple, and absolutely stunning.

Ridged sea glass spiral hoop earrings. The sea glass and the silver spirals are removable, so you've kind of got three pairs in one - the plain cold forged (by me) hoops (approx 1" diameter), plain sea glass hoops, silver spiral hoops, or the sea glass and spirals on the hoops (as pictured). That's four pairs in one actually!
I was amazed to find these two pieces of this lovely ridged glass that matched so well.
Drilling them was quite nerve racking. But it was worth it.

Wave sea glass earrings

These are so clean looking on,
love the length, and that they are all one piece.

Same only not looking at you.

Beach life resumed?

Back to beach life, kind of...

Dare I say it? After approximately two weeks the rain seems to have stopped. Sunday greeted us looking like the kind of day you could trust your washing with. There's not been many of those lately. The gallons of water that have fallen out of the sky have left us with knee high grass and rampant triffids that were once nasturtiums, strangling our garden. I ventured out there this morning, followed by my peg bearer (the bean), and we surveyed our little jungle with awe.

A rare moment of quiet on the roof

There is one thing around here at this time of year which is the same come rain or shine, the manic (Herring) seagull activity. You don’t just hear a few gulls exchanging pleasantries, not like civilised bird folk. On the contrary, having returned to breed yet again (it's the same pairs every year) these brutes are noisy – in fact entering the garden you feel like some hapless screw interrupting yard-time at the seagull slammer. There are gull gangs on every roof, as far as the eye can’t see (but rest assured they can see you), squawking raucously. Presumably they are warning the posse about something they think you might do to them or their offspring should you decide to fly up to their turf. They just haven't got it yet - no wings. This continues for the duration, whilst you're pegging out the washing, or any other suspicious activity you are engaged in. If they think you look really shifty, or you are a dog, they’ll even dive bomb you for extra sport.

Making friends

So this morning, after running the seagull gauntlet, with the washing out and flapping happily in a sunny breeze, we logged on and checked the tide times. Then we headed off for a spot of beachcombing, after we'd had a tip off about a great spot for some serious sea glass pickings along the waterline. It felt so good to be leaving the house with buckets, spades and toast, rather than wet weather gear, and to see the kids go free range on the sand again at last.

Sea glass Bonanza!

Our sea glass haul was fantastic. My wrecking crew and I found some lovely pieces that really glow. I have learned that this 'glowing' effect is caused by the prolonged immersion of the glass in sea water (chemical changes), often over years, and of course, there is nothing like the beautiful smoothed and frosted effects caused by the constant tumbling in the surf, against rocks and sand. I can’t wait to get down into the workshop.

Here are some I made earlier, these can be found in my shop

Green Cornish Sea glass and recycled beads
sterling silver stacker earrings

Our favourite YART item.....

Good Morning! We're up early this morning on account of my having a showcase slot to show off my best bits on Etsy, and the chirpings of two brown fluffy bundles of joy our resident seagulls have produced (so that's what all the noise was about!). I thought I would feature our best find in the Etsy Yart Sale .

This is what happens when you blog with a two year old on your lap! Apparently this is a "mine babbit" from the lovely UK seller's shop FeltLikeStitchin on Etsy.

Actually it's 'Jake with a Carrot' and it's only $15 - about £7.50 in the sale - fantastic for a piece of handmade lovliness. He's described as being "from the Bunni branch of the DiDi Doll family tree" Hilarious. There's all manner of lovely little felt figures in the FeltLikeStitchin shop. Not sure Jake'll be there for much longer though, if we've got anything to do with it.

Flowers, flowers,flowers
Delicious yarty bargains in my Glasswing shop. BUY 2 Pairs for $22!

Glasswing Jewellery Yart Sale special! These gorgeous little beaded flower studs measure around 16mm diameter, and come in all colours and designs. You can even design your own, perhaps for a special occasion. Just contact me with your choice of colours, and I'll get making. I love doing special orders.

Especially for the GRAND SUMMER YART SALE I'm doing these for the fantastic price of $14 (about £7), two pairs for $22 (about £11 ). All my jewellery comes beautifully packaged . How about that for a fabulous summer season bargain?

If you don't have an Etsy account, panic not! Just visit the Glasswing Jewellery Website and use the contact page there, quoting Yart Sale to get your discount.

Happy Yarting everyone...and here's to a successful showcase day.