Jewelry has, for many millennia, been a part of human society, even pre-dating the written word. Some of the oldest jewelry ever found was a set of beads made from Nassarius shells, and this piece of jewelry was at least 10,000 years old when discovered. For many years, jewelry has often been a symbol of status and power, such as the precious metals and gems used to display nobility or royalty around the world alongside other imagery such as certain flowers or animals such as lions to represent aristocracy or royal lineage. Today, jewelry is available for any consumer interested in personal decoration, and all sorts of gems and precious metals are popular today for necklaces, earrings, anklets and beyond, such as rubies, diamonds, emeralds, sapphires, gold, silver, and more. One of the more exotic pieces of jewelry are sea glass. Just what is sea glass, and can someone really make sea glass anklets or sea glass bracelets from it?
The Nature of Sea Glass
Jewelry such as sea glass anklets or an authentic sea glass ring are possible because sea glass is just that: bits of man made glass that has been polished and ground into shape in ocean currents, to an aesthetically pleasing end. It may sound cheap at first to think that sea glass anklets and more are being made from thrown-away trash found in the ocean, but even though sea glass technically began as trash, sea glass is rare and attractive and has found its place in the jewelry market today, from sea glass anklets to sea glass pendants.
Sea glass, unlike gems, does not occur in nature. Rather, sea glass gets origins in glass that human beings have thrown into the ocean along with other trash, and until recently, the world’s oceans were the standard dumping ground for refuse of all kinds. Glass is durable, unlike some other trash, and bits of glass will churn and flow in water, and the salt water will grind broken pieces of glass into new shapes with rounder edges, and the chemicals in ocean water may also change the glass’s color and shape, and by the time sea glass is found on the beach, it may have been in the ocean for years, and does not even resemble glass trash. Rather, sea glass is popular due to its attractive colors and shape, and sea glass is prized for the rarity of certain colors.
As Jewelry
Sea glass is often made into jewelry as an alternative to gems like diamonds or sapphires, and sea glass anklets, sea glass earrings, and more have proven themselves popular for jewelry of all occasions. Some of the most common colors of sea glass are blue, green, and aqua, often found in one in every 50 to 100 pieces of sea glass, and these colors are popular for brides to wear on their wedding day. More rare and thus expensive colors may include red or pink, and orange is particularly rare, being found in about one in every 10,000 pieces of jewelry. Sea glass can be worked into nearly any type of jewelry where regular gemstones might be found, and in the occasion of an outdoor beach wedding, sea glass will be thematically appropriate, and can add a seaside charm to the ceremony.
Sea glass might also be used for other occasions. It can be used for everyday jewelry such as sea glass anklets, and more exotic shades and colors of sea glass from earrings to pendants may draw compliments and curiosity from those who do not often see sea glass. Such glass might even be used for an engagement ring for brides today. Tradition holds that a diamond ring will be used as an engagement ring, but there have been recent trends for men to customize rings with alternative materials such as sapphires or emeralds in place of diamonds for a more personal touch. This may also be done with sea glass, and a man’s girlfriend may be surprised and delighted by an engagement ring with an exotic piece of sea glass as a personal expression, especially if the couple had a beach ceremony in mind.