Tale of the Tides

Every piece of Seaform jewellery begins with a secret. Long before it reached the coast of NSW, it might have been a vintage apothecary bottle, a mid-century soda jar, or a ship’s lantern tossed into the Pacific decades ago. Over the years, the relentless surge of the ocean has acted as a giant rock tumbler, shattering glass against the reef, tossing it through the sand, and slowly hydrating its surface to create that signature "frosted" glow. When the Emu finds a piece on the shoreline, we aren't just picking up a shard; we’re uncovering a survivor of time and tide. From a century of rough surf to a hand-crafted setting in our studio, these gems have earned their character the hard way.

Keen to know more?

Check out The History of Forster-Tuncurry: What the Tides Are Really Telling Us.

See below to tell the difference between those cheeky sea glass fakes or have a comb through

The Emu's Sea Glass Rarity Scale.

⬅The Real Deal
The Fakes➡

In the world of sea glass, there’s a massive difference between being "tumbled by time" and being "etched by a machine." Here is how to tell the difference:

The Genuine Survivor

Real sea glass has spent decades in the Pacific. Look closely for tiny "C" shaped impact marks (battle scars from the reef) and a deep, velvety frost caused by years of saltwater exposure. Every piece is uniquely shaped by the surf—never perfectly uniform.

The Machine Imposter

"Craft glass" is mass-produced in industrial tumblers. It often looks "etched" or oily, feels slippery, and lacks the historical character and tiny surface pits of authentic shards.

The Emu’s Guarantee: We never use factory-bought glass. Every shard is hand-foraged from the NSW Mid Coast. If it wasn't tumbled by the tide, it doesn’t make it to the bench.