Sea Beach Glass Genuine Surf Tumbled Sterling Silver Pendant

This sterling silver pendant features a large seafoam green, sea glass gem. The sea/beach glass is one of many I’ve collected from Midland Beach on Staten Island, and has been tumbled around by the surf and tides for 60+ years before washing ashore. When I vend at art/craft shows, I get many requests for sea glass jewelry, so I have created a collection of simple, open-back pendants. The open back allows for light to flow through the sea glass giving it a magical glow. Having an open back, without a rope or granulation frame, also requires less silver and labor, therefore bringing the cost down. It measures just under 1 ½” in length not including the bail, which is large enough to accommodate a larger chain if you want to swap out the 16” sterling chain I will send with the pendant. Please note…this looks blue when held up to the light, but the actual color is shown best in the first picture.

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.