How to Identify Black Sea Glass

Black sea glass is a rare find.

Sea glass is glass that has been rolled and tumbled on the ocean floor until it is smooth. It comes in a variety of colors, depending on the color of the original glass that was thrown into the water, a practice that is rarely done today in our eco-enlightened society. Black sea glass comes from black glass that people tossed into the sea between the 1800s and 1900s. Black sea glass is rare to find because black glass wasn't used often back then, and less of it ended up in the sea than other colors of glass. Designers value black sea glass today for making elegant pieces of jewelry, but when most people find it on the beach, they tend to keep it as a treasure to add to a sea glass collection at home.

Instructions

1. Look near the water's edge, in the sand or near the rocks at the beach for any shiny, smooth textured, black colored sea glass. It will look like a black rock, but when you pick it up, you should notice a dark green or blue tint to it if it is black sea glass.

2. Hold the sea glass up towards the sunlight or underneath a UV light. If the light shines through the glass and gives the glass a glow, it is black sea glass.

3. Rub the sea glass with your hands to see if it is smooth in texture, with no rough edges. Notice if it is round in shape and translucent. Black sea glass is rarely rough in texture and hard to see through since it is one of the oldest sea glasses in the sea and has had more time to rub and smooth out against the sea's sandy floor and rocks.

References

• Tglass Synthasite: Sea Glass FAQs