History & Introduction

The resin of the trees are fossilized and the formed the Amber gemstone. However the resin of Amber is not like the typical tree sap. It is derived especially from the Pinus succinifera tree. The fossilization of amber is traced back to the Tertiary period that means the amber stones is created through approximately 50 million years ago. As the amber is formed with the soft and sticky resin, it possess inclusions of animal and plant; mainly the mosquitoes including many insect species.

‘Resinite’ is the Amber gemstone processed in coal seams, its specimens comes specifically from New Zealand coal seams are known to be 'ambrite'. Amber comes from the organic gemstones family. Amber, the gem of a stone not really a gemstone it is rather fossilized pine sap. People have gathered, carved, dealt, and coveted amber for thousands of years ago.

The price for amber stones differs in wide range, in the right price range for Average Joe's (and Joannas) who spends as little as $20 for amber along with silver jewellery, and also for high-rollers ready to spend $40,000 or more for a "slice of sunshine" in amber jewellery created in platinum, gold and including other gemstones. It is not an official "birthstone -- a designation reserved for actual gemstones.

The ancient name for amber was "electron", the root word of electricity. It was 600 B.C., when the gemstone was discovered that in case an amber stone was rugged strongly, it becomes completely charged with electricity. It has an electrical charge that is negative to carry, amber was useful in pulling the power as well as energy into its bearer.

Recognise - Not like the other colour stones, amber is an amorphous instead of crystalline structure. It consist of a very low specific gravity that means it is exceptionally light. The low density of Amber permits to float in salt water. Due to the feature of low density it is difficult to imitate of Amber.

Availability - Huge deposits of amber gemstone is available in Kaliningrad, Russia. The amber from this area is in clay, which is 30 meters below the surface. Baltic region is the second largest source for amber and it is sourced from the seabed and frequently washed ashore. It is popular for fine golden colours. Blue amber is found with the Dominican Republic and is very rare. Italy, Romania, China, Japan, Burma (Myanmar), Mexico, Canada and the United States are also known to have amber deposits.

Usages - Amber is used in jewellery like the beads as well as cabochons, and is mainly used for bracelets, earrings and necklaces. Teardrops with oval shapes are quite often cut from Amber. It is not common faceted gemstone cuts. Ornamental carvings are even rarely from huge pieces of Amber.

Buying Guide

Genuine amber, as previously stated, is not an actual stone. Instead, it is made from the fossilized tree sap. There are five different classes of amber, mainly based on their chemical makeup. The colours of amber is found in wide range. Most amber comes in the light yellow to dark brown variety, but there are many other colours available. Based on the resin, amber can come in colours from near white, all the way to a deep, dark black. The chemical composition is changed due to ultraviolet rays to make it red, green and blue, however it occurs in extremely rare cases.

The stone becomes more valuable we it is dealt with genuine, more translucent and cloudless stone. Baltic amber from Baltic region, comes in white to orange brown colours, which makes it a great showcase for a flawlessly clean stone. The best Baltic amber consist of less marbling, or internal crack with bright and clear colour.

The amber jewellery that is true in sense is beautiful whereas fake amber jewellery can be just as eye-catching and when displayed correctly, it might be very hard to tell the two apart. Fake amber jewellery is usually made from hard plastic and dyes. The fake amber jewellery will also last for long just like the real one. Fake amber gives a perfect look. Even a perfect piece of genuine amber will have one or two minor flaws and this is hard to replicate in fake amber.

When trying to tell real amber jewellery from fake amber jewellery, the easiest and fastest way is the hot point test. A pin that is hot is injected into the stone. The small the burnt amber will let you know about the real or fake. Real amber will give burning sap smell whereas fake will give smell of plastic. Your best bet when real amber jewellery is bought over the fake amber jewellery to shop at a reputable source. Talking of any jewellery enthusiast, then either or fake amber jewellery is a beautiful and unique choice. Whether you are going with an amber pendant or amber ring, your amber selection is sure to be stunning.

Color - Amber gemstone is available spectrum of colours, but mostly it is in yellow, brown or orange. Amber in golden-yellow is in general hard, resin that is translucent from evergreen pine trees. Amber is even available in whitish to pale lemon-yellow and brown to nearly black. Rare blue amber is sourced from the Dominican Republic. Amber in colour red and green are also very hardly found. "Cherry amber" which is even called as to red amber.

Clarity and Luster - The clarity of amber is from transparent to opaque and it carries a resinous lustre. All amber gemstone particularly consists of pockets of air bubbles and many inclusions. Pyrite impurities many times provide amber a bluish colour. There are different varieties of amber gemstone, which possess a cloudy clarity due to numerous minute bubbles; these stones are called 'bony amber'. Amber with clear transparency is most in demand as compared to the cloudy specimens. Valuable amber stones contain insects, pyrite or plants inclusion.

Cut and Shape - Amber is mostly cut in en cabochon. Amber is hardly faceted. Earlier amber was frequently used for ornamental designs. It is easy to cut because of the soft amber nature. Like other lapidary gems try to preserve the treasure as possible in the process of cutting, number of amber stones get nodular-drop shapes like. Oval and round stones are famous amber; other fancy shapes, including pentagons, stars, hexagons, heart and trillions of forms are also available.

Treatment - The smallest stone surfaces are joined by oil stain, heat and pressure. This type of improvement must be disclosed by the suppliers of the gemstones; sometimes such stones are referred as "amberoid" or "pressed amber". Amber sometimes be more clearly by an oil bath. Amber can be replicated using other resins such as copal or kauri gum. Baltic amber is sometimes artificially enhanced to create brighter colors.

Gemological Characteristics:

Chemical Formula	C10H16,0 (approximate)
Crystal Structure	Amorphous
Color	orange, yellow, brown, red
Hardness	2 - 2.5
Refractive Index	1.539 - 1.545
Density	1.05 - 1.09 (approximate)
Cleavage	None
Transparency	From transparent to opaque
Double Refraction / Birefringence	Not available
Lustre	Resinous
Fluorescence	Bluish white - yellow green

Classification:

• Blue Amber
• Red Amber
• Green Amber
• Orange Amber
• Yellow Amber
• Brown Amber