When Take Chan posted the pictures of his collection of sea glass and his creations using these attractive sea glass gems, it became an instant hit on Instagram, attracting a huge fan following that currently numbers over 23,000. These glass pebbles in vibrant colours and fascinating shapes are nothing less than semi-precious stones. But, what are they and where do they come from?
Imagine chucking your beer bottle in the sea while out on a boat ride. The glass bottle will certainly sink to the bottom of the sea. Since it’s glass, it may get broken up, getting smashed against submerged rocks into various pieces of differing sizes and shapes.
These sharp-edged shards of glass will then get acted upon by the moving sands and tiny stones on the seabed. This action will grind, file and scrape these glass pieces and polish them up. All the sharp edges will get smoothened, turning the glass pieces into beautiful, flawless sea glass gems, bestowed with unique gloss, glaze and lustre.
This transformation is not completed in months or years but takes decades, even centuries. Much depends upon the strength of the undercurrents existing on the seabed that pushes the glass pieces to and groupon the gritty sand and gravel. The final product lies undiscovered at the bottom of the sea.
Now, imagine that you are walking on the beach with your eyes focused on the sand, looking for seashells. Suddenly, you notice a colourful gem-like stone glittering in the sand. You jump for joy thinking this is certainly from the treasure chest of some legendary pirate! But, on closer inspection, it turns out to be just a piece of glass, albeit of exquisite beauty.
Such sea glasses are found almost anywhere along the sea coast, lying in the sand or wedged into rocks. One needs to be a keen-eyed sea glass enthusiast to spot them! Little wonder sea glass hunting, that had existed since the last 20 years, is experiencing a resurgence.
This new fad of sea glass hunting has given rise to a plethora of sea glass groups. Numerous books on the subject have also been published. Social media sites have provided a common platform for sellers and buyers, where the buyers from all over the world bid on sea glass collections procured from countries like Australia, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Scotland and many more.
What’s more, the existence of sea glass is not confined only to the seashores. Recently this colourful product was discovered in Siberia, creating a frenzy among sea glass enthusiasts. How sea glass has caught up with the masses can be gauged from the fact that this year alone a total of 16 Sea Glass and Ocean Arts Festivals have been planned in the US.
Although Take Chan uses sea glass for his art, this trendy product has stormed the fashion world as well in the form of beautiful necklaces, earrings and bracelets. And the ones used in such jewellery are no less than the real semi-precious stones.
So, if you plan to visit the beach, keep your eyes glued to the ground and look for rare sea glass colours – turquoise, orange and red. These are much more valuable than the common green, white or brown sea glass.
More Info: Instagram
