Amethyst Beauty

By Kate Messer

I was walking along one of my favorite beaches in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a beautiful place, and one of many in the province I am fortunate to get to choose from. It always offers a nice long walk to help calm my mind and soul.

I’d gone there to clear my head after a rough few shifts at work. I am a paramedic, and the beach is the best place to sort things out in one’s head. The crashing waves, the random luck of finding some pretty sea treasures, and good exercise for me and the dogs make it a great place to recharge.

I was bending down to pick up my dog’s floaty toy when I saw a piece in the light. It was half-buried and I thought it was just a piece of amber beer bottle glass at first, but then I saw it was black with a fully round base. I thought it was something special then, and when I held it up to the light and was like WOW! It’s purple! It was like nothing I’d ever seen before. I find lavender glass there fairly often but nothing at all like that. Needless to say, I did a small happy dance.

I was heading back down the beach and kept gazing at it in awe. It certainly made my day and the trip to the beach well worth it. I showed it off to a dear friend and her jaw dropped. Instant jealousy too— haha! If she’d come with me, she’d have tackled me for it.

I enjoyed a lovely meal with my friend, then headed back home, head cleared and heart happy. Then, I decided to seek out the origin of this unusual piece, but to this day I still haven’t figured out what it is. My best guess is an old perfume bottle, as the base is quite small but solid and heavy, it likely would not have been a very big bottle.

I think it is called amethyst glass but would love to know what it may have come from!

This article appeared in the Beachcombing Magazine March/April 2022 issue.