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UV Sea Glass & Milk Glass Sea Glass

UV Sea Glass & Milk Glass Sea Glass

Posted by Lita Sea Glass Jewelry on 22nd Oct 2020

UV SEA GLASS: There is something magical about finding a beautiful piece of sea glass washed upon the shore. It's like a little surprise treasure, gifted to you by the ocean. Even more magical is holding a black light to your coveted piece and discovering it glows! If you are lucky enough to find a piece of sea glass made with uranium dioxide then you can expect to see your lovely beach treasure glow under a black light. Ultraviolet glass or UV glass is a yellow-green glass that was mostly produced for household items such as talbeware in the mid 1800's up until World War 11. The glass achieves it's greenish color from uranium dioxide which was used as a colorant. 

If you happen to find a piece of red, orange or yellow sea glass that glows you may find that the glow is a different color. Yellow can glow orange for example and even some shades of pink. This is from a color additive called Manganese and it created a wide range of colors from yellow, to violet and orange. It was used to decolorize glass or stabilize the color so it wouldn't change over time. Glass that contains manganese will glow orange, pink, yellow or peach under a black light.


MILK GLASS: Milk glass is the name given to sold "milky" colored glass that was mostly produced from the 1890's - 1950's. Most milk glass sea glass comes from tableware, for things like coffee mugs, plates, jars and vases. Milk glass tableware products also known as "Jadeite" are highly collectable in the antique industry. Milk glass comes in a variety of colors but it most often found in white and soft green. Milk glass sea glass forms when a piece of milk glass finds it's way to the ocean and breaks down over time forming a worn, smooth piece of milk glass sea glass.