What is this amber?

Amber is formed from resin exuded from tree bark (figure 9), although it is also produced in the heartwood. Resin protects trees by blocking gaps in the bark. Once resin covers a gash or break caused by chewing insects, it hardens and forms a seal.

What is amber used for?

Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects. Amber is used in jewelry. It has also been used as a healing agent in folk medicine.

What is amber worth?

Amber prices can range from $20 to $40,000 or more.

Is amber precious stone?

Amber is an organic semi-precious gemstone which is exactly not a mineral, but hardened resin of the pre-historic trees. It is found in a range of color from yellow to brown, red, black, blue and green etc. This gemstone occasionally contains fascinating insects or plant inclusions which increases its value greatly.

What trees do amber come from?

Most amber is from pine trees or other conifers, though there are a variety of trees that they can come from. However, most amber is from extinct species because the resin was exuded so long ago.

Amber Mark - What It Is (Visualiser)

How do you identify amber?

Perform a scratch test by using your fingernail to gently scratch at the stone. Real amber will not budge and leave any scratch marks on the surface of the stone. However, imitation amber in the form of manmade copal is going to show damage from a fingernail scratch. It has a hardness level of 1.5 on the Mohs scale.

What is the rarest color of amber?

Blue amber is the rarest of all the colors of amber. However, blue amber is fairly new to the gem industry. It must be caught in the right light, or it will look like every other piece of yellow-brown amber. A fascinating property of blue amber is the color that it will change when a fluorescent light is shown on it.

What does real amber look like?

Amber has existed for millions of years and is made from the resin of pine trees and, as its name would suggest, appears deep yellow. Real amber is warm to the touch and has a wax-like shine to it -- it will not appear as a glossy shine.

Where is amber stone found?

Amber is found in many places around the world, from Alaska to Madagascar, but the largest deposits exploited for jewelry and science are in the Dominican Republic, the Baltic region of Europe, and Myanmar, also known as Burma.

What is amber made from?

Amber is formed from resin exuded from tree bark (figure 9), although it is also produced in the heartwood. Resin protects trees by blocking gaps in the bark. Once resin covers a gash or break caused by chewing insects, it hardens and forms a seal.

How do I sell amber?

There are three basic ways to sell Amber. You can sell Amber retail off-line, wholesale off-line, or online. All are discussed here.

Does amber float in water?

Real Amber should float in this water easily while majority of fakes will sink fast. The main drawback of this method is that it is not very suitable for testing Jewelry that has some metal or other components in it; however it works well for loose beads.

Why is amber so valuable?

What Makes Amber More Valuable? Inclusions, transparency, roundness, smoothness, the rarity of the color, and the fame of the region are all factors that contribute to making an amber specimen more valuable. If it has an inclusion, an intact inclusion will fetch a higher price – up to $30 per carat or more.

Is amber a rock or mineral?

Most gemstones are minerals, however, Amber is not a mineral. Why not? It's because Amber is a hardened resin of specific species of ancient trees which has been fossilized over many years.

Is amber good for health?

Amber Bracelets are highly effective for controlling the pain of rheumatism, arthritis, and aching muscles and joints. Amber is also an anti-anxiety remedy that rids fatigue and weariness, excellent pain relief for head, neck and throat areas, especially for congestion.

What is amber smell?

It's scent is sometimes compared to that of pine and leather, with a heavier, balsamic, and slightly smoky aroma. Together, these 3 main ingredients form the pleasant combination that most people now recognize as amber — warm, resinous, sensual, slightly sweet, and exotic.

What does amber stone look like?

Amber comes in more colors than just yellow and golden. It might also be white, yellow, and orange to reddish brown. Connoisseurs value reddish amber more than golden amber. Rare pieces can even be blue or green.

How long does amber take to form?

Quick transport and deposition protects the resin from weathering. Once deposited, the resin chemically matures into intermediate forms called copals and finally into amber after millions of years. The amberization process is estimated to take between 2 and 10 million years.

What rock looks like amber?

Amber can appear similar to Citrine, Topaz, Fluorite, Golden Beryl, and Grossular, though it is much softer than all these gemstones.

Is amber man made?

Background. Although considered a gem, amber is a wholly-organic material derived from the resin of extinct species of trees. In the dense forests of the Middle Cretaceous and Tertiary periods, between 10 and 100 million years ago, these resin-bearing trees fell and were carried by rivers to coastal regions.

Does amber glow under black light?

UV or Black Light Test:

Real amber will fluoresce under UV light. The amount of fluorescence varies from piece to piece. In a dark space, shine a UV black light on the samples in question, and if it is authentic amber it will fluoresce a bright blue or yellow green.

Can amber be melted?

Heat. Heat causes amber to darken and dehy- drate. Amber's melting point is between 295 and 395° C. Chemicals.

Why does amber turn black?

Oxidation during transformation could darken or concentrate color and cause it to turn red, black or deeper yellow. Admixtures and some structural elements within Amber can cause minute turpentine gas bubbles, which affect the color because they refract light and change the perception of color.

Why is Baltic amber so expensive?

Baltic amber is generally more expensive than Dominican amber. Pieces containing insect or plant inclusions fetch higher prices than clean pieces without such inclusions.

What color is magic amber?

Because it is located halfway between yellow and orange on the color wheel, amber looks a darker shade of yellow. Its warm undertones often make it look golden but the hue can also sometimes appear to have a brownish tint.