Blue amber is rare, found mainly in the Dominican Republic with some production from Indonesia and Mexico. This variety comes from the resin of the extinct tree species Hymenaea protera (Iturralde-Vinent and MacPhee, 1996; Poinar and Poinar, 1999).
What causes blue amber?
When natural light strikes blue amber on a white surface, the light passes right through, and is refracted by the white surface. The result is the slight blue hue of blue amber. When the same natural light strikes the amber on a black surface, the light is not refracted by the black surface, but by the actual amber.
Is blue amber expensive?
Blue Amber is an extremely rare and very expensive variety of amber.
Is blue amber real amber?
Blue amber is a rare variety of amber resin that exhibits a blue coloration. Blue amber has been found only in the Dominican Republic—especially in the amber mines around the city of Santiago and, less commonly, in the eastern half of the country.
Is blue Baltic amber real?
Blue Baltic Amber is very rare too. It is captivating to anyone who beholds it. Most frequently blue shade is found in white Amber. Blue Baltic Amber formed when resin floated by the rivers to the peninsula of Sambia and it got into soil saturated by pyrites (FeS2).
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.
How can you tell if blue amber is real?
Scratch It
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.
How can I tell if my amber necklace is real?
Real amber has air bubbles, and if clear enough to let light pass, you’ll see imperfections within the bead, cracks, etc. Real amber is warm to the touch and has a slight ‘tacky’ feel (verses slick like glass). It also feels lighter in your hands than you would expect it to.
Is Baltic Amber real amber?
They resemble natural amber, but they are not real. Copal, Glass, Phenolic resins, Celluloid, and plastic. Copal (young amber) is sold as Baltic amber, but in fact, this is very young tree resin (1000- 1million years old).
Is amber heavy or light?
Genuine amber is lightweight and slightly warm to the touch. This is due to it being underground for millions of years and because of its chemical composition. You can distinguish fake amber that is made of glass from the real thing because glass is harder, cooler, and heavier than authentic amber.
Where is blue amber found?
the Dominican Republic
Blue amber is rare, found mainly in the Dominican Republic with some production from Indonesia and Mexico. This variety comes from the resin of the extinct tree species Hymenaea protera (Iturralde-Vinent and MacPhee, 1996; Poinar and Poinar, 1999).
What is the difference between amber and Baltic amber?
Contrary to popular belief, amber is not a rock or gemstone. Amber is actually fossilized tree resin and can be found in many regions throughout the world. Baltic amber is specifically amber from the area near the Baltic Sea, including areas in Poland, Lithuania, Germany, and Latvia, just to name a few.
What is blue amber good for?
With the Blue Amber, the benefits of having a piece include clearing of the mind, and developing intellectual abilities. This might have been why it was a stone often worn by royalty and advisers! In our times, it’s a perfect stone for researchers, designers, artists and even spiritual leaders.
Is blue amber a crystal?
This natural Blue Amber Healing Crystal from the Dominican Republic is like no other amber in the world. A stone of positivity and joy, blue amber is noted for its ability to multitask in all areas of healing.
Why is there so much amber in the Baltic?
Formed over 45 million years ago, Baltic Amber is an organic substance, a “Fossil Resin” produced by pine trees which grew in Northern Europe – from southern regions of the present day Scandinavia and nearby regions of the bed of the Baltic Sea. The climate became warmer and trees started to exude big amounts of Resin.
What is Sumatra amber?
Sumatran amber is special. It is found in the regular ‘amber-color’ and also in reddish hues, olive green and believe it or not – blue. It used to be the only real blue amber was found in the Dominican Republic and a small amount in Mexico. Blue amber from the Baltic area is heat and chemically treated.
Is Indonesian amber real?
Indonesian amber is 23 million years old and is found on the Sumatra Island. It has a typical red brownish colour but lights up bright green under UV light!
Does amber come from Indonesia?
The Indonesian amber can be found in several localities including the islands of Papua, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, Sumatra and Java (Wikipedia, 2013).
What is Indonesian blue amber?
Blue amber is fossilized tree resin from the ancient tree Hymenaea protera. It is a younger amber, approximately 15 to 20 million years old, compared to Baltic amber, which is 20 to 30 million years old. Blue amber is mined extensively in only two places, the Dominican Republic and Indonesia.
How do you polish Indonesian amber?
Instead, use a warm water solution with a mild soap. Place the solution into a container and drop the amber into it. Leave it to sit for ten minutes, then remove the amber and dry it with a flannel cloth. You can also place a drop of olive oil onto the amber and use a soft cloth to polish it.
Can amber go in water?
Amber itself can be in water and it won’t get damaged. However, many Amber jewelry pieces are made with a string, clasps from other materials or it contains other gemstones. Prolonged periods in water might weaken a cord or damage other jewelry components.
What is butterscotch amber?
Butterscotch Amber is a completely natural form of Baltic Amber. It is simply of a rarer kind than it’s renown Cognac twin, as a happy result of nature’s cunning beauty. The exact shade of Butterscotch Amber, like a fine wine, is known to develop and change with time.
Can you carve amber?
It can be carved and polished, but it is more difficult, and will be more fragile when it’s done (and of course less valuable). If it smells like burning plastic when you carve it, then it is plastic, which is often sold as amber by unscrupulous or ignorant vendors.
How do you drill amber?
Quote from the video:
It's really very soft to drill bar drilling it from one side to the other you get your chick test on on another side.
