A Guide To Sea Glass Hunting
26. Jul, 2011 
9 Comments
Being that I live in the desert my time when I am able to hunt is a very small window. I visit my home in RI anywhere from once every year and a half to every few years. During this time you will find me hunting almost every day. Depending on where you are looking sea glass can be quite hard to find. I am from one of the most heavily visited areas in New England. That being said finding quality pieces is like looking for needles in a haystack.
 |
|||
| My sea glass stash |
Try to find an area with open ocean that gets big waves. Rocky beaches hold the glass better then sandy ones that can pull the glass right back out to sea. However you are also more apt to find many broken pieces due to them hitting against the rocks. Old glass shops, and dumps near the ocean can be a great place to find. Closed areas such as bays are much less likely to have quality glass. Remember the waves and the sand are what weather and soften the edges of the glass so if the water is relatively still your glass won’t be as high quality.
 |
| Some of my rarer colors. |
Gather everything that doesn’t have sharp edges. Many pieces I pick up are not jewelry quality. I do not like to alter the glass. Only 5% of the glass I find is acceptable for use in my jewelry. However I hold onto all of it. You can use the lower quality pieces for mosaics or other projects. You can also sell it to other artists.
Hunting really is an art form. Many places you would think would be great for hunting turn up nothing. Get used to spending many hours looking and not finding. Glass hunting has become quite popular so older pieces are much more difficult to find. But it makes it that much more exciting when you find a piece.
 |
| Some of my more common jewelry quality pieces. |
Watch the tides come in and out. The wetness from the water can reveal the sparkle of glass causing it to stand out among the rocks.
Once home try to identify your glass using a guide. Glass can be much like antiques. Red, yellow and orange are hardest to find. Next turquoise, teal, aqua, cobalt, black (which is usually very dark green or brown when held to the light), purple and pink. Brown, green and white are easiest to find. However different shades are harder to find then others.
Black glass can be hard to find because it looks just like stone amongst other rocks. It can date all the way back to the 1600′s! Since one of it’s many uses was in preservation some pieces can be quite thick.
 |
| Black glass – see how you can see the side facing the light has a green tint and the other has amber? Without light shining through these pieces look jet black. |
On occasion you might be lucky enough to find other goodies like pottery, china, or marbles. I never buy sea glass. For me the hunt is part of the art. It is important to me to be able to say to the client, “I personally found this piece and there is a story to go along with it.” I can also guarantee that it is not imitation glass and is indeed the real thing. I believe my pieces carry my energy, the excitement of finding the piece as well as my love for my home and nature.
 |
| My coveted sea glass marble |
Guest Post by: Bellina Creations
About The Author
1716 
1691
Wonderful article, and the colors are stunning~ The Great Lakes also give us these hidden gems – Lake Erie, being the shallowest of all the Greats has some of the best beach glass in the world! Thank you for sharing your article and my best to you for finding the “perfect” piece!!!!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Fun post! I’ve found some pretty nice pieces while looking for shark teeth. The Chesapeake is a pretty decent place to hunt.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Oh… and awesome marble!!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
Oh, I love searching for sea glass. I have quite a collection. We live near to the west coast of Scotland, and there are some great beaches for sea glass in the region. Interesting article – I will look out for some of the rarer colours now!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
I live very, very near to the coast. So, its easy and fun to find Mother Nature’s Treasures.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
One more tip: Try to find a beach in an area where there was, or has been, significant commercial (and/or industrial) activity in the past. I found some of my very best pieces near a town on the Chesapeake Bay that had had an amusement park in the 20s and 30s — so there was lots of old bottle glass, and also cool pieces from light covers and signage. Great article!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
As one who handcrafts jewelry with sea glass I enjoyed reading this article and learnt a few interesting facts from it.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
How fun Zoey! I love hearing all about others findings. Glad you all enjoyed my article. I can’t wait for my next hunt!
Like or Dislike:
0 
0
What a wonderful article. We have plenty of very sandy beaches which is great for the kids but I’ve yet to find any sea glass.
We did find a huge piece of ceramic jug including one handle which we’ve had dated to 500 years old !
I will keep looking though – your descriptions make it sound so worth while.
Like or Dislike:
0 
0