Discovering Pirate Sea Glass: Treasures of the Ocean

What is Pirate Sea Glass?

On the beaches, amidst the usual white, green, and blue sea glass, you might stumble upon something truly special — Pirate Sea Glass. At first glance, it looks black, like a stone, but it holds a secret…

Hold it up to the light, and you’ll see its true colours shining through: deep green, brown, blue, or even red.

Origins of Pirate Treasure: Tales of Voyage

These dark treasures date back to the days of long sea voyages when privateers and sailors needed durable glass bottles to preserve liquids like rum, beer, or oil. The bottles were intentionally made as dark as possible to protect their contents from sunlight, ensuring they lasted through months at sea.

Over centuries, many of these bottles found their way into the ocean. Tumbled by waves and polished by sand, they’ve become smooth gems, rich with history. A closer look might reveal tiny air bubbles trapped within the glass, a hallmark of handblown craftsmanship from before the 1900s. The advent of mechanised glassmaking eliminated these bubbles, making Pirate Sea Glass even more unique.

Finding Pirate sea glass is like holding a piece of maritime history, a connection to the lives of seafarers and the age of privateers. Keep an eye out on your next beach walk, and you might uncover one of these oceanic treasures.

Iconic Cornwall: Inspiring Jewellery Design

Cornwall is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Landscape and its tin-rich, granite landscape is both beautiful and rugged. Engine houses dating from the 1700’s can be found throughout the landscape, an indication to its industrialised and rich past.

Porth Jewellery Pirate seaglass necklaces feature a unique design that celebrates Cornwall’s heritage. Each pendant is set in silver, with the iconic Cornish engine house carefully crafted into the back of the setting. This allows the sea glass to be illuminated from behind, revealing its original colour and air bubbles. The design is versatile, allowing the engine house to be worn at the front if desired.

Each piece is unique due to the hand-cut details and the natural variations in sea glass. The pendants are highly popular with those seeking authentic Cornish jewellery and come with a map of Cornwall showing the provenance of the sea glass.

Adding variety through design

Variations of this design also feature lighter coloured sea glass, with a heart or whale’s tail hand-cut into the back of the setting, adding a touch of artistry to the timeless appeal of the sea glass.

With lighter sea glass, the pierced shape can be seen whilst wearing the pendant against a dark top, or the shape ‘disappears’ against lighter colours. The marks on the glass from the pebbles that have tumbled it on the beach add the unmissable ‘C’ shapes of true sea glass.

All Porth sea glass is found on the Cornish coast and carefully set in silver by Laura in her home-studio in Falmouth. Heirloom tools are used alongside new and specialist tools to lovingly create jewellery and teach jewellery-making workshops in the town.

Jewellery Workshop Information