Glass - man has been fascinated with it since its very origin thousands of years ago. Even modern man is intrigued by this solid which is really a rigid uncrystallized liquid. It is believed that the first glass appeared as far back as 5,000 B.C. The first glass making was believed to have been accidentally discovered by Phoenician sailors while setting their cooking pots on blocks of soda cargo when making camp. Glass blowing techniques were later developed by the Babylonians, and the Egyptians were known to have produced glass beads and vases. Glass was considered a privileged commodity - produced for Pharaohs in Egypt, and the wealthy in Rome. The Romans expanded on glassmaking technology, however, it wasn’t until the 1800’s that molds were developed to replace glass blowing. In the late 1800’s semi automatic bottle machines were developed to mass produce bottles into the modern day miracle they are today.

So, where does beach glass, also known as sea glass, come from? It is one of the few exceptions of manmade waste in our lakes and oceans which has become valuable by the actions of nature. Discarded bottles and jars that enter the water have been tumbled and smoothed by the waves, rocks, and sand creating beautiful pieces of smooth, frosted glass. It can be found on beaches along oceans or large lakes. Green, clear, brown, and amber beach glass is the most common (due to being the most common color of beer bottles), however, other colors, though rare, are known to exist. The experts claim that red and orange sea glass are found only once for every 5,000 pieces found. Black sea glass is extremely rare as it often originates from pre-1860 glass that is actually dark olive green.

So, you ask, where does Lake Effect Jewelry’s beach glass come from? Our origins are on the shores of Lake Erie in the United States. The glass typically found in this area is green, clear, brown, and an occasional blue. Because many areas, including Lake Erie, are becoming more environmentally conscious, beach glass is becoming more difficult to find. Our motto is that our jewelry is inspired by beach glass. There are some authentic beach glass pieces mixed in with our manmade tumbled beach glass. We do not distinguish between them as experts claim that the differences can only be identified microscopically and by local origin of color. Again, the true colors for our area are green, brown, clear, and an occasional blue. We tend to enjoy varieties of color for our designs so we have also selected to sell an assortment of colors from manmade tumbled glass for unique effects. We hope you enjoy our array of handcrafted selections and welcome you to our website!