Authentic Sea Glass

Artificial vs Authentic

Sea glass can also be produced artificially by using a rock tumbler, and some companies sell artificially produced sea glass to tourists or make jewelry from it. As littering is increasingling discouraged authentic sea glass becomes harder and harder to find, and artificial sea glass is sometimes fraudulently advertised as authentic. Rock tumbled glass is not the same as sea glass, since long-term exposure to water conditions creates an etched surface on the glass that cannot be duplicated artificially. The differences can be distinguished microscopically.
Sea glass collectors claim that the term "sea glass" should be reserved for authentic specimens, and artificial sea glass should be termed "craft glass".