Seaglass Bottle Stopper

One of my favourite pieces of beach treasure is this intact, sea-tumbled bottle stopper that I found on a shore near Dublin. Originally a club sauce stopper, it is quite a rare find. Isn't it simply gorgeous?

seafoam seaglass bottle stopper

fully frosted seaglass pendant

Natural seaglass is glass that has spent decades tumbling in the salty waves of the ocean. The silt, rocks and elements polish and smooth any ragged edges. More importantly, the water eventually leaches minerals, namely sodium and potassium, from the glass, causing that frosted or etched look that cannot be faked. Only time and tide achieve it. A highly frosted piece must have been in the sea for well over 100 years. 

Glass bottle stoppers were particularly popular in these parts in the 1800s before solid cork stoppers became more commonplace. Flat-top stoppers with cork sheaths around the shank were much used for sauce bottles from the mid 19th century. Not surprisingly this style is known as 'Club Sauce Stopper.' The cork would have eroded away in the sea decades ago. Today glass stoppers are still found in retro-styled perfume and apothecary bottles, for example. 

partial sea glass bottle stopper

 This partial piece was found on a North Dublin shore. The round rim has been eroded right away but you can still tell it is an antique bottle stopper. It is a beautiful teal colour. 

This intact one was found on a South Dublin shore and is a lovely seafoam colour. This greeny aqua tint often seen in old seaglass is caused by the iron content in the sand used to make the original glass.

 I don't intend wrapping it into a piece of seaglass jewellery. This beauty is more of a collector's item to hold onto for the joy of having found it.

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Want to see some rare red seaglass I found? Please click here

Click here to see some interesting shapes in white seaglass

Seaglass bottle necks

How to clean Seaglass and sea pottery

B is For Beads, Beach Glass, and Bottle Stoppers

We're on the letter B in my ABC blog series. This is a not-so-comprehensive guide to jewellery materials and tools that I use and some tips for care of your jewellery etc. B is for beads, beach glass and bottle stoppers...

 

Beads are small, pretty or decorative things for threading (stringing,) weaving or wiring into, sewing onto to otherwise embellishing jewellery, clothing, accessories etc. They come in a wide range of sizes and shapes and are made from a vast array of materials. Most commonly beads are created from glass, wood, metal, stone, ceramic, clay and crystal.  Beads are increasingly being made from interesting recycled sources such as paper, fibers, up-cycled plastic and recycled metals and so on. 

photo courtesy of University of Oxford

The oldest known beads are drilled Nassarius (sea snail) shells,  discovered in Eastern Morocco., South Africa and Israel. The oldest are believed to be c100,000 years old. 

The sea glass I use is not technically a bead as I don't drill any holes in it. However, this red sea glass bead is one of my most prized beach finds. It is most likely a fisherman's bead that would be threaded onto the line to attract the fish. It is beautifully frosted which indicates it is a few decades old and it still has a piece of line stuck inside it.

If you are starting out as a beader and intend purchasing beads online it would be wise to familiarise yourself with bead sizes, at least the more commonly used ones first. The smallest can be under 1mm, a mere dot! Those that measure 4mm and under are usually used for accenting (flanking or separating) larger beads or for very delicate bead work.  

long carnelian and onyx earrings

A bead chart can be useful for gauging sizes. For beginners who want to learn with simple earrings, bracelets and threaded necklaces, I would recommend starting out with 6mm, 8mm and 10mm. The carnelian beads in these dangle earrings are 8mm and the black onyx are 2mm. Once you are familiar with these sizes you will find it easier to guess what other sizes will look like.

B is also for Beach Combing and Beach Glass

In Dublin city, it's relatively easy to get to the coast for some beach combing. I collect and use beach glass and sea pottery. Personally, I'm not a fan of shell jewellery. You are more likely to pick up some decent beach glass near a harbour, or in the tiny pebble coves than on a long sandy strand.

People often ask the difference between sea glass and beach glass. Sea glass is glass that has been naturally tumbled and frosted by salty, ocean water and is found on coastal strands. Glass that has been tumbled naturally by fresh water in lakes and rivers is called beach glass. Beach glass is also the wider term for both categories...in other words, sea glass can also be termed 'beach' glass but the reverse is not so.  Sea pottery can also fall under the term 'beach glass.'

 

A fully frosted and smoothed piece of beach glass would have been surfing the waves getting buffed by the silt for decades. Frosting occurs when minerals are leeched by the elements over a long period of time.

I have written a number of previous posts around the subject including:
How to Clean Beach Glass
How to Care for Beach Glass Jewellery
A Little About Sea Pottery

bottle stoppers I found in Dublin

B is also for bottle stoppers - my favourite beach finds to date. Glass bottle stoppers were popular in these parts in the 1800s. This piece would have originally had a cork sheath around the shank and would have come from  a sauce bottle. Read more about the club sauce stopper HERE.

Like to start at the beginning?
A is for amethyst, agate jewellery, agate burnisher, acids 

Another Seaglass Bottle Stopper

I can't believe I found another, intact, seaglass stopper!! OK, technically I didn't find it. I was standing right beside it, obliviously examining a piece of sea pottery I'd just picked up off the sand. It was my Etsy friend Heli of Heli MG Tufted Luxury whose sharp eyes honed in on it. She pounced on it yelping in excitement and nearly frightened the life out of me. Heli generously gave the coveted treasure to me to add to my collection of rare finds.

The stopper on the left is one I found a bit further up the coast a few weeks back. It has a pointier nose and a small flaw on the under rim. This latest find is also a seafoam colour, has a rounder stalk and  is perfectly intact. Both are beautifully frosted by the sea and must be very old. Last month I wrote up a post explaining a little about this type of sauce bottle stopper. To read it CLICK HERE

There are some pieces I just can't bring myself to wire wrap into jewellery and I keep them to be admired just as they are. This is one of those special finds. Though our other beach combing companion, Mo of Huggle Knits, suggested I wire up some sort of stand to hold it in. Great idea and a new challenge for me to try out. I have a few designs floating in my head now.

To read how to clean seaglass click HERE

To read about seaglass stoppers click HERE

to see my seaglass jewellery click HERE