All along the shores of New England, brilliant remnants of antique bottles wash up; softened and frosted by a century or more of pounding waves. Sea Glass comes in many colors -though I seem to only ever find blue, green, purple, brown, and clear- and its source can often be determined by its hue:
White/Clear: windshields, windows, clear bottles and glasses
Opaque White: milk glass
Brown: beer and coca-cola bottles
Kelly Green: beer and soda bottles
Lime Green: 1960′s soda bottles, baking soda
Amber: old whiskey, medicinal, and bleach bottles
Golden: spirit bottles
Yellow: 1930′s Vaseline containers
Ice Blue: ink bottles, fruit jars (late 19th and early 20th centuries)
Cobalt Blue: poison, Vicks VapoRub, Milk of Magnesia, and Bromo-Seltzer containers
Aqua: Ball Mason jars
Teal: Mateus wine bottles
Turquoise: tableware
Purple: decorative bottles
Pink: Great Depression era plates
Red: Schlitz beer bottles, car tail lights, nautical lights
Orange: household decor (*rarest color)
Black: 18th century gin bottles
*For a more comprehensive look at the origins of sea glass and their corresponding colors, check out this amazing article by By The Sea Jewelry
Schlitz beer bottle (sha.com)
Seafoam Fang Necklace by Ecstasea (ectasea on Flickr)
(seaglasspr.com)
For all those not in New England, don’t fret – sea glass can be found in many parts of the world! Bermuda, California, northwest England, Mexico, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Nova Scotia, Australia, Italy and southern Spain to name just a few.
Of course, one caveat of saving the environment is that less and less sea glass is turning up since many bottles are now being recycled. The good news for all of us collectors is that maybe one day, natural sea glass will be currency! Or at least worth a lot in nostalgia.
Happy hunting.
ps: this post was inspired by a pale aqua tulle skirt that I made recently:
What gorgeous pastels…. absolutely love them!