Grade Sea Glass, Grade Beach Glass, Value Sea Glass

Have You Been Wondering How to Grade Sea or Beach Glass?

Grade Sea Glass?

Here we'll be talking about how to grade your beach glass.

Jewelry Grades of Sea Glass

Jewelry Grade A

• Evenly and thoroughly frosted with very rounded corners. 
• No chips, poorly-rounded corners, or visible defects.
• Excellent for fine jewelry.

Here are two views of the same numbered pieces from two different sides. Notice the features.
View 1 - Jewelry Grade A	View 2 - Jewelry Grade A
1. Cobalt blue 2. Brown 3. Teal 4. Turquoise 5. Pale sea green (seafoam) 6. Dark aqua 7. Light cyan	You will notice that pieces #2, #6, and #8 have some edges not quite as rounded. If they were a little sharper, they would fall into a Jewelry B grade. (For color ID see the Sea Glass Color Chart)

Jewelry Grade B

• Same qualities as A grade sea glass but
• with a small chip or defect visible from one side only OR
• more defined edges/corners.
• Very good for jewelry and arts.   

Jewelry Grade B	You will notice here that #1 and #4 have obvious chips. However they are the only defects and are visible from one side only, and so qualify as Jewelry Grade B. Pieces #2, #3, and #5 don't have any visible chips.
1. Aqua   2. Green   3. Brown   4. Cobalt Blue   5. Medium sea green	However, the edges are a little too defined to be Jewelry Grade A. (For color ID see the Sea Glass Color Chart)

Jewelry Other

• more than one of the defects of B grade, but
• because of unique shape, color, or other qualities, it could make a nice jewelry piece.

Craft Grade Sea Glass

Craft Grade A Evenly and thoroughly frosted but  with chips or defects visible from both sides or distinct angular edges and not more than 1 rough or cracked edge. Good for many art and craft projects.

Craft Grade B Somewhat frosted. May have chips, defects, more than 1 rough edge. Good for mosaics and some craft projects.

Craft Grade Mixed	Craft Grade Mixed Somewhat frosted. May have chips, defects, more than 1 rough edge. Good for mosaics and some craft projects. You can see that this mix of Craft Grade A and B sea glass is much less rounded and tumbled.
1. Cobalt blue  2. Pale sea green 3. Off white (clear) Craft A 4. Light cyan 5. Misty Rose 6. Pale turquoise 7. Green 8. Dark olive	Pieces #1 and #2 are Craft Grade B. Pieces #3 and #4 are Craft Grade A, being fairly well tumbled and smoothed but with distinct edges and some chips. Pieces #6, #7, and #8 are actually somewhat shiny. Along with piece #5, they barely meet the standards to be considered sea glass.
However, the colors are not so common so might be kept in a collection until replaced with similar colors that are in better tumbled condition. (From Sea Glass Color Chart)

Note: Grading sea glass is not an exact science as there is much individuality to each piece. The Grade Chart above contains the main points you'd look for when buying or selling (or deciding it's a keeper or throwing it back for more punishment). 

I might mention that Lin makes beautiful wrapped jewelry and has sometimes used a Craft Grade A shard because of uniqueness, color, and able to mask the defects sufficiently!  She also loves white, a very common color, because it goes with everything...use your judgment, and, MOST OF ALL, ENJOY!!

Next, take a look at the following pages:

	Why is the Sea Glass I am finding not very tumbled? How sea glass gets tumbled and frosted and where to find it...
	How Rare Is Pink Sea Glass? What are the most common colors? Which are rare? There are many...