Beach Glass Surf Tumbled Antique Pottery Shard Sterling Silver Necklace

I had numerous events and shows over summer, and all of these necklaces I made sold out before I had a chance to list any for my online customers. Finally, I’ve been able to create some just for my website and Ebay customers.

This sterling silver necklace features two super rare cornflower blue, genuine surf tumbled, sea glass gems that I paired with an antique pottery shard. All of these beautiful pieces I collected from Midland Beach on Staten Island over many years. According to beach glass experts, these cornflower blue pieces are from the 1800s and originate from Phillips Milk Of Magnesia bottles, Bromo Seltzer, Vick’s Vapor Rub or ink wells!! This color is so very rare that I don’t even include it in my own color rating. I think I have maybe a half dozen pieces left. Most pottery shards I find date to the late 1800s, however this sweet little piece of pottery, with Its gentle strokes of blue, is from stoneware typically used during the 1700s, and is one of the oldest pieces I’ve found. It is extremely old and of course has some light crazing, so I preserved the surface with sealer. I’m always stunned that these little treasures manage to withstand hundreds of years tumbling around with the tides. The random shapes of sea glass and pottery shards have been created by nature, and I do not alter them in any way.  I bezel set each with solid backs, and joined them with jump rings to give nice articulation. Because of the way I prepare the silver backing, the sea glass pieces absolutely glow when in sun, or strong light, and the high polish on the silver gives an eye-catching mirror finish.

This is one of my signature designs, however this time I’ve made these larger than the previous ones, and upgraded the sterling silver chain. This is an Italian made flat cable with large links that reflect with a mirror shine to compliment settings, and I used a large sterling lobster claw clasp for the closure. This necklace measures approximately 18” in length with an extra jump ring added so you can close it to 17”.

If you love this style of necklace, be sure to check out my other listings to view several more including some with stunning lime green sea gems.  

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sea Glass

Since moving to the US from Australia, I’ve been walking the beaches of the north eastern coast collecting surf tumbled sea glass and antique pottery shards. From the moment I picked up my first piece of sea glass I’ve been in love. They are stunningly pretty with their soft colors and frosted finish, but are also a part of history as it takes a minimum of 50yrs for the tides and surf to toss and tumble them into little gems. Of course, fake sea glass is being “cultivated” overseas now, and whilst the bright colors and uniform shapes are attractive to some, it is fake and I don’t use it. Its value is zero, much like a lab created diamond. About 90% of the sea glass in my jewelry has been collected by me personally over years. I do buy a small amount of genuine sea glass from collectors in places like Hawaii because my local surf does not produce the rounded gem shapes found in those locations. I will always let you know the geographical origin of the sea glass in items I create. Unlike “cultivated” glass, real sea glass is shaped organically by the surf and tides so they are uniquely uneven, and present a real challenge when creating their bezels. They also often display tiny “C” shapes on the surface of the frosting. I do not remove these as they are the signature of genuine sea glass, like the inclusions in an emerald. Where I collect, I find more white pieces than any other color. Brown is next, followed by Kelly Green. Very rare are the seafoam greens, and soft blues, with cobalt blue being the rarest color of all. Sadly, only about 10% of my finds are jewelry quality and the rest is chipped and used for craft. I hope you too come to fall in love with genuine sea glass.