Jewelry Materials from The Land

AMBER

Some call amber a gemstone, but it’s actually fossilized tree resin (formed over 35 million years ago). Amber is translucent to opaque yellow, golden or orange. There is some darker amber, mostly from South America, and not consider real amber by many. Most consider only Baltic Amber true amber. Amber is often found floating in the Baltic Sea, or washed on shore. (I heard stories in Lithuania how older generations would vacation at the seashore and collect amber – like we collect seashells!)

Amber is warm to the touch and lightweight. (It floats in salt water!) Amber can be almost clear to cloudy but never completely clear or uniform in color. Being a slow originating organic fossil, it has some sort of particles trapped inside.

Amber’s resin contains healing oils that are activated by your body's temperature. Many believe these oils can improve the body's immune system and reduce inflammations like sore throats, ear aches and stomach issues. Some amber bead necklaces are specifically made as teething rings for babies.

There are a few variations or forms of amber seen in jewelry:

Fatty Amber – translucent, looks like opaque chicken fat and full of tiny bubbles and suspended dust or other particles  

Cloudy Amber – cloudy appearance caused by hundreds of small bubbles

Foamy Amber – looks opaque and chalky, and usually doesn’t polish well

Modified Amber  - has been subjected to thermal or a high-pressure treatment, which changes the degree of transparency and color. Jewelry made of modified amber is highly valued.

Pressed (or Reconstructed) Amber - made from small amber pieces (only amber) melted into one piece under high pressure. It is generally more uniform in color and shape, and depending on the setting, lower in value.