Jewels of the Sea

Twinkle, twinkle shards of glass

How I wonder about your past

Tossing and tumbling with the tides

Leaving mysteries which you hide

From a pirates old bottle of rum

The queen’s finest chinaware

Or stained glass pane from a Spanish Galleon

Your origin washed away with the seas caress

Now, with worn edges and opaque texture

jewels in the sand is what you’ve become

Shimmering and sparkling; blue, green, brown, and clear

For the lucky, radiant orange or red just may appear

The excitement and anticipation of claiming the bounty

That is the ocean’s gift for the treasure hunter





Collecting treasures along the north west shore in Nassau, Bahamas. (Images captured with GoPro Session and Samsung Galaxy Note5 )


Legend has it that sea glass is “mermaid tears”. The tale explains that whenever a sailor drowned, mermaids would cry, filling the seas with particles of their emotions. Tossing and tumbling in the ocean tides would wash the tears to shore where they would turn to glass as a monument to the sailor.

Actually sea glass is simply broken shards of glass from old bottles, tableware, or windows which have been tossed around in the ocean for years.  After 20-30 years being rolled and tumbled in the sea, the edges become rounded off and the slickness of the glass worn to a frosty appearance.

Image captured Ipad Air2

Just like any gemstone, sea glass carries a value determined by the age, color, size and, shape.  Aged orange being the rarest, most valuable “gem” quality to the common greens, browns, and clears rating at  “craft” value. The size and shape helps reveal some of the mysteries of origin of the jewels we find. Imagine our excitement when finding pieces that were clearly identifiable as glass bottle stoppers used hundreds of years ago. By the Sea Jewlery has been very helpful when categorizing the treasures we find.

Living on Love Beach where much of our sea glass treasure hunting takes place, a giddy excitement emerges whenever I find the most special heart shaped piece of glass. Yes, this is nature’s handy work. When a glass is broken, the point of impact radiates out from the central area. This creates the point of the triangle shape, which is more common in sea glass. A heart shape occurs when one of the flat sides of the triangle becomes chipped. After many years of tumbling in the surf and sand, the sea glass heart is born.

Image captured by  Christina with Samsung Galaxy Note5

Rare finds: marble believed to be from ballast on sailing ships and remnants of bottle stoppers.

Black glass, or very dark glass, is somewhat rare because of it’s age. Hundreds of years ago this type of glass was used in bottles containing fluids that could be damaged by exposure to sunlight.  Many times iron slag was added to increase the strength of the glass. Scattered along the beaches, black glass blends in with black pebbles or stones going unnoticed to the novice treasure hunter. The subtle difference is light will pass through the glass, revealing it’s true color. Due to it’s rarity, stumbling across this gem is quite delightful.

Light under glass reveals true color. (Image with IpadAir2)

Why collect sea glass? For Danny and I, we love the hunt for the rarest find as we scour the beach several times daily. We pick up all glass we find. If strolling near a beachfront bar, most is fresh glass and we take pride in protecting little ones feet when discarding the shards. Our favorite spots along West Bay Street are littered with gem quality glass!! One day maybe I will learn how to make jewelry. For now I have found ways to incorporate into my home decor. Filling vases and candle holders creates a nice ambient light from flickering candles. Crafty art pieces for the walls are reminders of our sunrise and sunset strolls.  If I never learn how to design my own jewelry, after a full year here on the island, I am sure I will have a desired bounty to sell for those skilled artisans seeking the finest our sea has to offer.

Vases filled within three weeks of arriving on the island.

Bahamas sea glass art- my first creation #seaglass #oceancrafts #bahamas #nassaubahamas #beachstroll #creations #wondersfromthesea #instaart #instamoments

A photo posted by Christina Chandler (@beach.camera) on Jul 15, 2016 at 1:49pm PDT

We have collected our sea glass along shores on West Bay Street between The Caves and Clifton Heritage Park (Jaws Beach area).
Follow the path to find your jewels by the sea:  Sea Glass Treasure Map

To travel with Danny and I on our daily adventures follow us on instagram @danpiraino, @aerialbahamas, @livebahamas, and @beach.camera