How to judge Amber

AMBER is a warm gem with an aura of its own. A geological wonder buried beneath the earth and sea, there is something special about its timeless formation. In its own peculiar way, amber has the unique characteristic of calming the mind. This quality of warmth, combined with its ancient lore, becomes an essential part of its beauty.

Some 40 million years ago in what is now Poland, Latvia and Lithuania, tropical pine forests began to excrete sap in large quantity. Small and large drops of aromatic sticky resin poured down the trees, embedding leaves and insects in their path. With time, the resinous material hardened into a soft and lustrous substance. Stone Age men discovered the fossilised lustrous material washed up on the Baltic shores and beyond, but it was the women who began to love and wear amber.

This fascination with the gold-coloured gem continued to be of great significance to the Assyrians, Egyptians, Etruscans and Greeks. The Greeks took interest in this sea gem and named it elektros because of its unique physical property: easily electrified by rubbing with a cloth, it will attract bits of paper. In English the name means Amber.

Amber is found in Northern Europe around the Baltic coast (East Germany, Poland and Russia), the Dominican Republic, Burma, Romania and Sicily. Baltic amber tends to be more desirable.

There is a certain romance associated with amber's unbelievable life span under the sea, the way it was thrown onto rocky shores, its biological pecularities and its unique fingerprint.

Colour, Clarity and Cut: Amber colour varies from white to dark red and even black. They can be transparent to translucent green or blue due to fluorescence; or opaque blue due to atmospheric weathering. With time, various colours have been valued according to fashion and superstition. Baltic amber is usually yellow. Like coloured stones, no two amber pieces look alike.

Generally amber is included with plant debris and small animals such as insects and spiders. They have a characteristic flow structure with included air bubbles, causing cloudiness. Connoisseurs divide amber into three groups: clear, massive and cloudy. The clear variety is perfectly transparent and gem quality. It takes a good polish and is very much in demand as beads. Massive amber is more or less cloudy. The cloudy type is translucent to opaque, and softer than clear amber with an inferior polish. Amber is commonly oiled to improve clarity, as well as to darken and harden it.

Generally amber is fashioned as beads, cabochon or carved for ornamental purposes. It is advisable to avoid chemicals and ultrasonic cleaners during handling.


Synthetics and Simulants: Sometimes it is difficult to differentiate natural amber from more recently created imitations, the most common of which is copal, a recent fossil resin very similar in appearance and physical properties to amber. Copal tends to craze on the surface if washed in hot water. It may become tacky if tested with a small drop of ether. Plastics, too, are often used to imitate amber and are identified by an acrid odour to the hot point. True amber gives off a resinous aromatic odour.

A Man's Best FriendAmber beads are used extensively in the Middle East as prayer necklaces and worry beads. The softness and lightness make it easy to handle and passed through fingers if desired. Believe it or not, amber is of great demand among smokers, in cigarette holders, mouthpieces and pipe stems, as it feels cool. Some of the most beautiful amber of opaque quality have been used for Turkish hookahs. They are highly prized when ornamented with coloured stones.