The Sea Glass Shard of the Month: March 2016
Ruby Red Sea Glass Watch
See SLIDE SHOW
Sea Glass Specifications:
Color: Ruby Red
Max Length: 25.4 mm (1.0")
Max Width: 19.1 mm (0.75")
Max Thickness: 7.1 mm (0.28")
Weight: 3.7 grams (0.13 oz)
Estimated Age: 40 to 50 years old
This month we'll take a look at a sea glass watch face found on the beaches of the UK. Not much information was found while researching the origins of this specimen so most of the following is based on observation and experience, but I'm sure you'll agree that part of the allure of sea glass collecting is in imagining from what your precious finds originally came from and how they ended up in the sea.
Here's a candy watch for kids that shows the hard candy wrist band that may have been used in our featured specimen.
Here's a pic of the $1,000 grand prize winner in NASGA's Shard-of-the-Year Contest in Long Branch, NJ back in 2011.
Facts of Interest
The times displayed on watches found in modern advertising are not just by coincidence. There are specific reasons for showing approximate times of 10:10 in advertising including having a symmetry that is more appealing to the customer. For more on this click Advertising Watches.
It is assumed this sea glass watch was originally a kid's toy worn on the wrist with an elastic strap. From the photo on the left you can see there are holes found on the sides of the glass watch where the wrist strap probably attached. This strap may have been thin elastic strings that threaded edible hard candy which could be chewed off by the wearer. Many candy watches sold these days are perfect examples of what these wrist straps may have looked like.
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The type of glass toys our specimen originated from was apparently made in the more vibrant (rarer) colors for visual appeal... |
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Many of these watches were probably sold in candy shops and amusement parks located near the ocean. One could imagine these toy watches being worn and easily lost at the beach by more than a few children playing in the sand and surf.
Although most sea glass originates from bottles some of the more unusual and valued sea glass can come from toys, jewelry, buttons and art glass decorations. The type of glass toy our specimen originated from was apparently made in the more vibrant (rarer) colors for visual appeal, with Arabic or Roman numerals oriented differently upon the watch face, and have various shapes and markings which add to their appeal.
These toy watches are also found to display various times, possibly having specific meaning to the designer. This is unlike the visual considerations for displaying watches found in modern advertising (see Facts of Interest sidebar).
A few similar sea glass toy watches in various bright colors and shapes have surfaced in recent years (see the slide show) and the sea glass community's reaction to them is evidence that they are highly valued and sought after. An orange sea glass watch won the $1,000 Shard-of-the-Year Grand Prize a few years back at the NASGA Sea Glass Festival held in Long Branch, NJ. Two others, a round, red watch and a blue, rectangular specimen, sold recently in FaceBook auction listings for over $500 each!
So the next time you wind up at the beach you may want to keep a watch out for that next priceless sea glass gem... but always remember to have a good time!
Happy sea glass hunting!
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