Sea glass. n. Definition: The other side of the argument against beach litter.

I bet you didn't realize that a bottle tossed into the ocean by a lazy beachgoer can reap some pretty cool effects. From ugly shards of broken glass can come beautiful jewels.

So exactly how are these jewels created? It begins with the bottle thrown in the ocean that shatters one way or another. Those shards float out to sea and get ground against rocks and tossed through the waves, sanding down the sharp edges into an asymmetrical, dull-edged shape. It loses its typical glassy clarity due to a process in which the salt from the water slowly breaks down the piece of glass, allowing for the vulnerable piece of glass to become coated in hydroxide, making it cloudy and frosty. The transformation usually takes a few years, and the finished sea glass then looks something like this:  http://www.naturalseaglass.com/largeseaglass.jpg

Beautiful, huh? Let's say you find a piece of sea glass. How do you tell its quality? Did you just find a precious rare gem? The most frequently found colors are the usual colors of bottles: green, brown, and sometimes transparent, although transparent is stepping into the "Rare Zone." The Rare Zone consists of the colors red, violet, yellow, orange and black. Other features that add to the quality of sea glass are unusual shapes, bubbles, and inscriptions. Also, the bigger the better!

One of the best places to hunt is right around the drop-off, a few feet off shore, where glass can easily get caught in the slope of sand. Get a scuba mask and brush away the tiny shells. This is where you'll commonly find them sticking out. Also, while you're under there, it's a good idea to search around and between large rocks. The next place to hunt would be in the seashell beds high up on the beach where high tide washes up. Pieces of sea glass will often be washed on the surface of the shells, just waiting for a careful eye to spot them.

Sea glass hunting is a great hobby to take up because you need nothing but time and maybe a scuba mask to pursue it, the glass is beautiful and valuable, and besides that, it's fun! So go ahead, check out the sources for more info, and dive in!
             

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_glass
http://www.bytheseajewelry.com/theglass/genuine.php,
http://www.seaglassassociation.com/Sea-glass-festival-NASGA.html,
http://www.naturalseaglass.com/largeseaglass.jpg