What is Amber ?

Amber is a hardened resin of pine trees in ancient times. This organic matter is best known for its inclusions of insects that can be found within it. People have been making amber jewelry for over 10,000 years, and can turn it into the first jewel. The charm of amber continues to this day.

The Greeks called amber "amber electron" or "made by the sun". Homer praised its radiant glow. The Egyptians also buried it in tombs for life after death. Today's scientists consider amber to be very important: Amber is a three-dimensional window into prehistoric ecosystems, providing it through the myriad of animals and plants it contains.

Amber is considered a gem because it glows when polished, while amber is not really a gemstone and hardened resin is a special type of ancient tree that has been fossilized for millennia.

Due to its unique properties, amber has been constantly decorated and studied for centuries. For various reasons, amber is one of the most widely used jewelry.

Each amber gemstone is unique and is likely to be extracted from the Baltic region because it has the largest reserves of amber. It is estimated that there are more than 105 tons of Baltic amber in northern Europe. Amber is the largest known resin of fossilized plants on Earth.

Baltic Amber, in the domain of Dominican Amber, has the highest quality for preserving fossil insects. It is interesting to know that amber is not a precious stone at all.

Coarse amber sometimes contains various components of plants and insects. Many of these insects are visible even without magnification. The amber is an organic gem. Organic gems are the products of living or once-living organisms and biological processes. Amber was formed tens of millions of years ago, when the sap of ancient trees hardened and fossilized.

Amber History

 Millions of years ago, when amber was secreted from countless plants, it acted as a trap for ants, bees, termites and other insects. Pine flowers, leaves and needles are also among the elements of amber along with gas bubbles.

Amber can even contain larger animals such as scorpions, snails, frogs and lizards, which are very valuable - especially if the "inclusions" of the animal are preserved intact.

It is interesting to know that the insects embedded in amber formed the basis of the movie "Jurassic Park". The story was about dinosaur clones from DNA found in the blood of dinosaurs sucked by prehistoric mosquitoes that were subsequently preserved in amber. This movie made a lot of interest in this amber.

Scientists are studying amber to learn more about extinct species. So far, more than 1,000 species of extinct insects have been discovered.

Amber Color

The word amber means yellowish brown, but this gem can be yellow, gold, white, orange to reddish brown or even bluish or greenish. Amber is available in a variety of luxury colors. The most common color, as its name implies, is a honey-brown color. In fact, 256 shades of amber have been identified so far.

If you find blue amber, it is most likely Dominican, but Baltic amber has been treated to have a deep blue color. It may be cream or white. Sometimes amber may be green or even purple, depending on the plant material initially preserved in the piece.

Amber is available in various colors. The most familiar of these is yellow to orange, while its reddish color is very rare.

Scientists and collectors consider amber to be a treasure that contains parts of a suspended animal or plant. These fossilized pieces of creatures that lived in the past and got stuck in hardening amber now form an attractive time capsule.

 Some kind of amber is found on earth. Other species are carried by the tide and eventually reach the shores or areas near the shore. One of the most important sources of amber is the Baltic coast bordering Germany, Poland and Russia.

 Baltic amber is more expensive than Dominican amber. Parts containing insects or plants without such inclusions are more expensive than clean parts. Rarely, strong fluorescence can give amber a bluish or greenish appearance that can be of great value if attractive. Oxidation may change the color of the material over time.

Cutting and polishing amber for jewelry makes it more susceptible to oxidation by removing or thinning the outer surface. Delicate clear yellow or orange amber can gradually darken to reddish brown and eventually black.

Green Amber : Amber green color can be produced by heat treatment and pressure. Amber color can be modified by heat treatment and dyeing.

Gas Bubbles in Amber: Gas bubbles are the inclusions of many amber. If they are large, they can give the material a cloudy appearance.

Amber Clarity

Clear amber is more valuable than cloud material. The presence of an interesting plant or animal adds value to the amber sample. Accurate heating treatment in canola oil can lighten cloud amber to some extent. The resulting amber sometimes shows circular cracks like sun spangles.

Amber Cut

Amber is often paid for in free form and then may be set on jewelry or drilled for stringing. Amber cutting styles include loose beads, cabochons and pieces. Amber may be a facet, but it is very rare. Amber comes in many forms. Many people find amber transparent, but it can also be opaque.

Amber Sources

The main source of quality amber in the Baltic countries, including Poland, Germany and Russia, where most of the world's amber comes from an area formerly known as East Prussia and now known as the Kaliningrad region, is a Russian siege. (There is a famous amber museum in Palanga, Lithuania). The Dominican Republic is a good source of amber gemstones, especially rare and very precious blue amber. Amber is also found in Britain, Poland, Russia, Italy and Germany.

·        Dominican Republic: mined from sedimentary rocks. Yellow, orange, and red colors. This material often contains well-preserved insects and sometimes displays a strong bluish tone in reflected light.

·        Sicily: material may be opalescent blue or green.

·        Norway; Denmark; Romania

·        Chiapas, Southern Mexico: produces golden yellow material.

·        Cedar Lake, Manitoba, Canada.

·        Point Barrow, Alaska.

·        Cedar Lake Amber - Canada

·        Amber from Cedar Lake, on display at the Manitoba Museum, Winnipeg, Canada. Photo by Mike Beauregard. Licensed under CC By 2.0.

·        Myanmar: brownish yellow and brown varieties: also colorless, pale yellow, and orange.

·        Lebanon: scarce, from very old deposits.

·        United Kingdom: rarely found

Amber Sizes

Amber comes in different sizes, pieces of amber usually weighing less than half a pound, but pieces weighing several pounds are also sometimes found.

Amber Care

Avoid contact of amber with rough materials, heat and chemicals. Solvents and alcohols can dissolve amber to some extent. Never use mechanical cleaning systems to clean amber. Instead, you can use a damp cloth and warm water detergent.

Amber Value

The highest value of amber is related to those parts that have insects, the clarity of the insects. Since Jurassic Park, the most popular items include mosquitoes. The inclusion of plant materials, although noticed by scientists, adds much less to the value of jewelry. (These inclusions are usually so small that they are not easily recognizable). Very large pieces of amber are rare. Good quality materials are often used only for jewelry.

Amber Varieties

Amber is classified into different types:

·        Sea type is found under the sea.

·        The pit variety is dug from the ground, especially from the Baltic region.

·        Other types according to appearance:

·        They are transparent, massive, fancy, cloudy, foamy, fat and bony.

Amber is not a fossil

Amber is commonly referred to as a fossilized resin, but it is not exactly a fossil. Most fossils form when an animal or plant is buried in the ground. Over the centuries, the organic matter in fossils has been slowly replaced by minerals. In contrast, the organic elements of amber are not substituted. Instead, the resin undergoes a chemical transformation into a polymer, a natural plastic.

Amber Astrology

Amber is classified as a gemstone in terms of strength and energy as well as in terms of several different zodiac signs.

Amber is a sign of cancer astrology because it reflects the energy of the sunniest and hottest month of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. Cancer falls from June 21 (Summer Revolution) to July 22. You can also write amber as a sign of Taurus. It fits and aligns with this sign appropriately for the nature lover in the scope of its own earthy origins.

The golden orange colors in amber stabilize more energy in the body and therefore affect by calming them and creating protection and balance.

Healing properties of amber

Since ancient times, amber has been sought for medicinal purposes. Nicolas Copernicus had a basic recipe for amber. Hippocrates also described the medicinal properties and methods of using amber, which were later used by scientists until the Middle Ages.

 Baltic amber contains 3-8% succinic acid, which is widely used in medicine. Succinic acid strengthens the body's immunity and thus improves the body's functions. In the Middle Ages, when the plague killed people in various cities, amber was used to prevent the spread of the disease.

 Aromatherapy has become one of the most popular uses of amber. According to the ancient Greeks, amber had numerous uses. One of these cases was the use of a mixture of amber with honey and rose oil and its use as a treatment for deafness. It was also thought to enhance vision. The Chinese believed that amber was a symbol of courage. It has always had medicinal properties and has been used for various diseases throughout history, until the early 20th century.

The ancient Greeks believed that this was a broken piece of the sun because amber glowed when rubbed. There are many myths about the origin of amber. A historian named Nicias thought amber was the sweat of the earth. According to a Greek legend, when the Pantheon, son of Apollo, was set on fire by Jupiter after the earth was burned by the chariot of the sun, his sisters, who turned into spruce trees out of grief, cried amber tears.

The Chinese believed that amber was the crystallized spirit of a tiger. Blood amber, a special type of amber, was used in China as a fever medicine.

Amber also had many uses for the Romans. If amber was sprinkled as a powder around the neck, it was thought to ward off madness. It was used as an effective drug against toxic drugs and problems related to tooth loss. Pliny the Elder is a story in which he mentions children who used amber amulets to ward off evil spirits. Until the seventeenth century, people did not know the origin of amber and at one point attributed it to lynx urine. Interestingly, Pliny believed that amber came from the sap of trees, and he was right.

Amber in Symbolism

Amber is closely related to protection and has therefore been given a vessel of eternal youth. Some cultures thought that amber was the resting place of abandoned spirits in order to preserve the insects in the resin.

Amber is believed to open the third chakra to help provide mental clarity, confidence and mental balance.

This good gem comes with many symbols, including its first use, which is for good luck. Amber is also thought to provide general protection, especially against evil.Amber is a symbol of new and continuous faith in marriage and a sign of eternal bond of eternal love. This gem is also the tenth anniversary.

Amber in jewelry

Amber jewelry can be found in many good retailers and specialty stores but you should always beware of fraudsters. Real amber is powdered if scratched with a knife.

Amber is a gorgeous accessory for any outfit for any occasion and creates a great piece. You can tell all your friends that this unique product is completely organic. Allow yourself to be admired for sharing this beautiful and wonderful jewelry.

Identifying Characteristics of amber

Amber is known for its special inclusions, which are mainly insects, pollens, leaves and other organic residues. Millions of years ago, pine trees that are still alive trapped these insects, pollen, leaves and other organic debris in their sticky liquids. These include a glimpse of life millions of years ago. Some of the finer amber specimens include whole, trapped termite colonies. The chambers of these structures, created using warp and weft, are still visible.

In addition to termites and mosquitoes, amber contains a variety of beetles, spiders, mites and other arthropods. Sometimes, a fragment contains different types of organic inclusions.

Synthetic Amber

Compressed amber is created by melting smaller elements under high heat and pressure. Amber softens at 150 ° C and melts at 300-350 ° C. Microscopic examination can help distinguish amber from ambroid. In addition, amber often darkens to a light reddish-brown color with age, while ambroid may turn white with age. Sometimes plastic and glass pieces are used as simulators.

Special things about amber

The most obvious advantage of amber is its old energy. You can usually see small insects trapped in amber as tree resin. These magical properties give power to amber. The most popular amber stones are available in warm colors - yellow, orange and sunny brown. For this reason, amber is called the sun stone.

 Some properties such as warm, healing, wise, protective, cheerful have been attributed to the old and beautiful amber. Amber, like any famous gemstone that has a long history of use in various cultures, amber has its share of mystical properties. Amber is called the "tiger spirit" in Asian cultures and is considered a stone of courage. Pieces of amber were carried for protection during long journeys and were also used to treat jaundice.

It is also believed that amber:

• Helps to grow patience and wisdom
• It attracts success
• Balances human emotions
• Eliminates fear
• Relieves headaches
• It cleanses the mind of negative energy

Amber treatment

Amber is sometimes heated to create deep, dark colors, and may also be heated to remove turbidity in the oil. Oil-heated amber often contains highly reflective, disc-like inclusions called spangles. Hot needles are used to detect amber from synthetic materials. Real amber produces a smoke that smells a bit like incense, while when the plastic melts it shows only a black spot.

Amber as a gift

Amber is not a birthstone, but is associated with the astrological sign Taurus. As mentioned, Amber is considered a sign of the zodiac sign of Cancer, because it certainly reflects the energy of the hottest and sunniest month of the year in the Northern Hemisphere.

Amber is a symbol of new and continuous faith in marriage and a sign of eternal bond of eternal love. This gem is also the tenth anniversary. Some of the best ways to enjoy amber energy are to use it as jewelry or have a small engraving on your home decor.

If amber warmth and wise energy are appealing to you, explore different types of amber jewelry and see if it makes a difference in your energy. As always, the best thing to do is to buy the highest quality you can afford and choose natural and unrefined amber over synthetic amber.