What is sea glass? Where to find it in Florida, how to know if it's real or fake

Lianna Norman and Samantha Neely, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida
·3 min read

Beachcombers covet it, people make art from it and it hides among shells along the beaches of Florida. Sea glass pieces aren’t as easy to find as the shells that cover Florida’s shorelines, but they’re worth the search.

Sea glass are pieces of glass that have been naturally or chemically weathered and beveled from being tossed around in the ocean for decades.

Sea glass starts as glass bottles, jars or pieces of trash glass that find their way into the water. But the ocean turns this trash to treasure.

The natural process of this trash glass turning into a stunning piece of sea glass can take anywhere from 30 to 100 years.

After enough time of being exposed to the elements, the sharp edges of the clear glass become frosted and soft. It can be a wide variety of colors, ranging from white, to hues of blue, teal and green or even oranges and browns.

Here are the best beaches in Florida to find sea glass glittering among the shells and sand.

What is the rarest color of sea glass?

According to the sea glass rarity chart from realseaglass.com, the “ultra rare” tier of sea glass colors includes multi-colored pieces, orange, yellow, red, turquoise and teal.

What beaches in Florida have the most sea glass?

Here are the six Florida beaches where it’s easiest to find sea glass, according to Neat Beach:

  • Sanibel Beach

  • Captiva Island

  • Hutchinson Island

  • Jupiter Island

  • Jenson Beach

  • Jacksonville Beach

  • Cinnamon Beach

  • Navarre Beach

  • Siesta Key

What is the best tide to find sea glass?

Low tide is the best time for beachcombers to find sea glass, shark teeth and shells.

Where is sea glass illegal to collect?

The answer depends on where you're located. If you’re at a state park, you can look at the glittering glass but you can’t take it home.

On all beaches located within U.S. state parks, it is illegal to collect sea glass. If you’re caught taking sea glass from a state park, one might be fined upwards of $500. On other beaches, it is legal unless indicated otherwise.

How rare is sea glass?

Since glass isn't as heavily used for bottles, jars, and other packaging that might end up in the ocean, sea glass has become harder to find as time goes on.

Authentic sea glass has gotten more expensive as it becomes increasingly rare, especially for those seeking particular colors over the years.

How can you tell real sea glass from fake?

There’s a difference between real sea glass, tumbled glass and beach glass.

Beach glass is like sea glass, but it’s spent less time being worn down by the elements. It will have rougher and straighter edges.

Tumbled glass is glass that hasn’t been in the ocean at all, but was man made to look like sea glass. Companies or people trying to sell sea glass art or jewelry might take a rock tumbler to erode the glass artificially. Tumbled glass typically won’t have the “frosted” appearance that sea glass does.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: These Florida beaches have the most sea glass in the state