Amber is an amorphous fossilized resin. It can contain insects trapped in the resin.
Beware of the imitations!
Baltic amber is a resin which came from a now extinct tree 30 - 40 million years ago: the Pinus Succinifera (succinum is the ancient latin name for amber, electrum was the Greek name), this tree grewed in an area now under the Baltic Sea.
_ Buried under layers of mud and sand, it is now found when storms rip it from the seabed. Because of its low specific gravity, the amber released from its prison rises to the surface and washes up on the beach where.
For centuries, the local inhabitants have collected it for sale.
Towards the end of the 1600’s, large deposits of amber were discovered in the Baltic inland ;.
Today these deposits are still exploited and furnish a large part of the amber found on the market.
Amber is very soft, (with a hardness of around 2,5) and therefore easy to work. Because of this, it was used for small sculptures and precious gems as far back as prehistoric times.
From time immemorial, amber has been attributed with "magic" and therapeutic properties, particularly because of some of It’s mysterious qualities such as the ability to attract hair and wool fibers after it has been rubbed. The principal of static electricity were not yet known.
_ The unexplainable presence of plant fragments and tiny insects intrigued and mystified.
_ Many of it’s mysteries have since been explained. However, even today Amber is still the subject of superstitions: some people still attribute it with certain therapeutic powers. It is used in the treatment of impotence (it is said that one has only to keep it in one's pocket) , in nervous system and digestive tract disorders and in some beauty creams.
Its use in the manufacture of cigarette holders and pipes derives from an ancient Arab belief that amber prevents the transmission of contagious diseases which could be spread by the shared use of a narghile.(water pipe)
In Baltic countries, it is traditional to put an amber necklace around the neck of a baby in order to keep away disease.
Following the film "Jurassic Park", amber once again became fashionable and attracted renewed scientific interest, particularly because of the inclusions which allow scientists to further their knowledge of evolution and the development of living organisms.
You can find some interesting information on amber by following these two links:
Ambre balte by Gianfranco Rocchini (in French)
American Museum of Natural History (in English)
To learn more about the mineralogy of the amber, see Mindat.org
See the amber for sale
