What is Amber

Amber is a transparent biological fossil. It is a resin fossil of plants such as Coniferae, Ricaceae, and Araucaria. The resin drips and was buried in the ground for thousands of years. It is petrified under the action of pressure and heat. Most of the amber is formed by the resin petrification of pinaceae plants, so it is also called "rosin fossil". Amber has low hardness, light texture, astringency, warmth, gem-like luster and crystallinity. Another feature of amber is that it contains particularly rich inclusions, such as insects, plants, and minerals.

Amber Shapes

Amber has a variety of shapes, mostly irregular granular, massive, stalactite and loose granular shapes. The surface and the interior often retain the lines produced when the resin flows, and there are often bubbles and ancient insects, animals or plant fragments inside. With rosin luster. Transparent to opaque. The fracture is extremely conchoidal, with a hardness of 2 to 2.5 and a specific gravity of 1.05 to 1.09. Very brittle. Frictionally charged.

Amber Colors

Amber is a non-crystalline organic semi-precious stone, exquisite and light, with a warm and delicate touch. Most of the amber is transparent, and the colors are varied and varied. Yellow is the most common, but there is also red, green and extremely rare blue.

Common Amber Types

gold amber, blue amber, green tea amber, black tea amber, blood amber, flower amber, brown-red amber, green amber, insect amber, beeswax, medicine amber, Burmese amber, etc.

Amber's Identification Method

The criteria for identifying amber are its dense texture, no cracks and beautiful color.
1. Experiment: Natural amber is very light in texture. When you put it (without any inlays) into the water, it will sink to the bottom. You add it to the dissolved concentrated brine. When the salt concentration is greater than 1 to 4 (1 part salt, 4 parts water), the real amber will slowly float, while the fake amber will not float.
2. Sound: Amber chains or beads without inlay in the hand will make a very soft and dull sound when rubbed gently. If the sound of plastic or resin will be crisper.
3. Fragrance: Unpolished amber rough, after rubbing it with hands, you can smell a light special fragrance. The fragrance of white beeswax is slightly heavier than that of other ordinary amber, so it is called "fragrance". Generally speaking, amber that has been finely polished or carved by hand is difficult to smell through hand rubbing.
4. Observation: The texture, color depth, transparency, refractive index, etc. of real amber will vary with the observation angle and illumination. This feeling is not available in any other substance. Amber is transparent but very warm, not as transparent as glass, crystal, and diamond. Fake amber is either very transparent or opaque, and the color is dead and false.
5. Ultraviolet radiation: Put the amber under the currency detector, there will be fluorescence, light green, green, blue, white, etc. on it. The plastic fake amber will not change color.
6. Friction with static electricity: rubbing amber on clothes can attract small scraps of paper.
7. Hand feeling: Amber is a neutral gemstone, and it is generally not too cold or too hot. And the imitation of glass will have a colder feeling.
8. Heat test: Burn the needle to the inconspicuous part of the amber that has a faint pine fragrance. Bakelite and plastic give off a pungent smell and stick to the needle. (Friendly reminder: Too hot will leave black spots on the surface of the amber, which will affect the appearance)

How to Storage Amber

Amber has low hardness, so it should be stored separately, not with diamonds or other sharp or hard jewelry. Amber jewelry is afraid of high temperatures and should not be left in the sun or by the stove for a long time. If the air is too dry, it will easily cause cracks. Try to avoid strongly fluctuating temperature differences. Try not to come into contact with alcohol, gasoline, kerosene, and alcohol-containing nail polish, perfume, hair spray, pesticides and other organic solutions. Remove the amber jewelry when spraying perfume or hairspray.

How to Maintain Amber

Rubbing amber with hard objects will make the surface rough and produce fine marks, so do not use hard objects such as brushes or toothbrushes to clean the amber. When the amber is stained with dust and sweat, it can be soaked in warm water with a neutral detergent, rubbed dry with your hands, then wiped clean with a soft cloth, and finally dripped with a small amount of olive oil or tea Lightly wipe the amber surface with oil, and then use a cloth to remove excess oil stains to restore the luster.