Genuine Sea Glass - Nothing Else Like It
Genuine sea glass is unrivaled in its beauty and uniqueness. When discarded bottles and other glass items find their way in the ocean, they are shaped and polished by currents, waves and sand, becoming beautiful, rare gems. It is fun to consider the history of each piece of sea glass and think about what it may have originally been.
Turning Trash Into Treasure
All of TORTUGA SEA's one of a kind, custom sea glass jewelry is created with genuine sea glass that has been formed and shaped by the sea and handpicked from beaches all over the world (much of it we hand picked our selves over the last 25 years).
We encourage the use of glass over plastics whenever possible. If glass makes its way into a costal environment it is inert and once rounded by the waves is not a threat to animal life even after many years, whereas plastics in the environment will pose great threats to many organisms-especially sea turtles for decades and centuries to come.
Don't Settle For Fakes
Genuine sea glass can be distinguished from fake sea glass by close inspection of its surface. Naturally formed sea glass has crescent shaped chips on the surface; a physical record of the millions of waves that crashed over it. “Sea Glass” with no crescent shaped chips on its surface lets you know it’s not genuine. As genuine sea glass is highly sought after it is becoming increasingly rare.
Like anything of value, fakes abound. Fake sea glass is made from Turning trash into treasure, pre molded modern glass or other waste glass that has been tumbled in a machine for a few days with grit, water and acid to round the edges. These counterfeits are characterized and can be identified by a homogeneous smooth frosting on the surface with no "C" chips on the surface. It is not unique and is of little value as none of the rich history or surface texture exists. Genuine sea glass takes years, decades and even centuries to form and is highly collectable by beachcombers and artists everywhere.
