Yep! To establish the value of a piece of sea glass, you need to evaluate the grade (physical appearance) and the color rarity.
Here we'll be talking about how to grade your sea glass.
To evaluate the color rarity of your beach glass, click here.
The two main divisions are Jewelry and Craft Grade sea glass.These are broken down into a total of 5 categories:
- Jewelry A
- Jewelry B
- Jewelry Other
- Craft A
- Craft B
| First,
let's look at the 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
(From Sea Glass Color Chart)
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.
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 - Ex. 3
1 – Aqua
2 – Green
3 – Brown
3 – Cobalt Blue
5 – Medium sea green
(From Sea Glass Color Chart)
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; however, the edges are a little too defined to be Jewelry Grade A.
Jewelry Other: We haven't included a picture here, as the pieces do vary. They may have 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.
| Now,
let's look at the Craft Grade Sea Glass |
Craft Grade A: Evenly and thoroughly frosted but with chips or defects visible from both sides, not more than 1 rough 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 - Ex. 3
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
(From Sea Glass Color Chart)
You can see that this mix of Craft Grade A and B sea glass is much less rounded and tumbled.
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.
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!!
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