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Amber
"...it was the 'juice' or essence of the
brilliant rays of the setting sun, congealed in
the sea and then cast up
upon the shore".
George Kunz (1856-1932), The Curious Lore of Precious Stones
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In the
'Jurassic Park' movies, dinosaur DNA
is extracted from insects trapped in
Dominican Amber, which is actually
about 25 million years too young to
really contain the genetic material
of these avian ancestors |
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Long coveted for its beautiful warm colours,
Amber is fossilised tree resin that was created
two million to 50 million years ago. Ancient
Amber has been with humanity a long time and I
am not just talking about its age; Amber amulets
and beads have been found in Stone Age
archaeological sites throughout Europe. Being
traded far and wide in the ancient world, along
trade routes our ancestors established before
the Bronze Age, Amber jewellery dating back to
2600 BC has even been excavated in Egypt.
The
word 'Amber' comes from the Arabic 'anbar',
meaning 'fragrant substance'. Coming to us via
the Spanish, 'anbar' actually referred to
ambergris, the aromatic substance created in the
intestines of sperm whales that were once used
to make perfumes. The confusion possibly
originates from the fact that they both wash up
on beaches and emit fragrances when warmed, as
well as ambergris' historic use in jewellery.
Please rest assured, no whales were harmed
during the writing of this book.
As suggested by the opening quote, Amber has
always been linked to the sun because of its
golden colours, light weight (making it easy to
wear) and warm to the touch (a poor conductor of
heat, Amber feels warm while mineral gems feel
cold). Its unearthing in ancient burial sites is
no accident. Because of its association with the
sun, Amber was regarded as a guiding magical
light in the afterlife. For Greeks, Amber was 'elektron',
meaning 'sun made'.
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A Mexican
Amber crystal with two
million-year-old leaf inclusions |
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According to their mythology, Phaëton, the
offspring of the sun god Helios, begged his
father for the right to prove his divine
paternity by being allowed to drive the sun
chariot across the sky. Giving his son the
metaphorical 'keys to the car', things went
badly. The earth got cold when he flew too high
and then going too low, he accidentally burned
most of Africa into desert. His hand forced by
Phaëton's poor driving, Zeus the king of the
gods, took him out with a lightning bolt.
Phaëton's sisters grieved his loss so much that
they were turned into poplar trees, forever to
weep golden tears of Amber.
Because of Amber's ability to generate a static
charge when rubbed, it's from its Greek name, 'elektron',
we get the word 'electricity'. In a further nod
to its electric personality, the Persians called
Amber, 'karabe', which means 'that which
attracts straw'. As suggested by its colloquial
name 'seastone', Amber floats in saltwater and
is collected from beaches on the Baltic
coastline, often washing up as far as the
British Isles. Romans called Amber 'sucuinum'
and it is from this heritage that Baltic Amber
is known as Succinite, after its parent Pinus
Succinfera, a tree common during the Tertiary
period 50 million years ago.
As it is tree born, Amber is classed as an
organic gem and this classification includes any
gemstone made or derived from living organisms.
While I'll try not to blind you with science, it
takes eons for tree resin to transform into
Amber and like so much in nature, the process is
still not fully understood. The process required
for tree resin to become Amber involves
molecules combining to form something more
complex (molecular polymerisation), oil
evaporation, heat and pressure. As soon as it's
secreted, tree resin immediately begins to
harden and actually has various uses, such as
the Frankincense and Myrrh given to Jesus by two
of the wise kings at his birth.
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Amber & White
Topaz 925
Silver Pendant |
Amber's colour is down to its composition (tree
species) and what happened after its secretion.
Typically transparent to translucent, Amber
comes in a huge range of colours including blue,
brown, golden, green, orange, red, white, and
yellow. While Baltic Amber has apparently been
documented in 256 shades, the main colours are
broken into three broad groups: old or classic,
cognac and lemon. You'll sometimes even see
Amber described as 'black', though this isn't
really accurate as they are simply the deeper
shades of other colours. Since colours don't
vary much in price, simply select based on your
personal preferences.
Amber often contains glittering natural
imperfections and fissures as well as
prehistoric inclusions, such as seeds, leaves,
feathers, and even insects. Amber with insects
entombed millions of years ago is not only
highly collectable, but also allows
palaeontologists and geneticists a valuable
window on the past. The clarity you choose
should be down to what you find appealing. For
me, a few imperfections that accentuate its
natural origin are definitely preferable. As
with all gemstones, the way Amber is cut is
important as it must be carefully polished to
reveal its beauty. Try judging the balance of
the tones present, size, finish, shape and
proportion in combination with your colour and
inclusion preferences. As Amber's popularity can
fluctuate with fashion, matching pieces to your
individual style is also important. For example,
the large baroque (irregularly shaped) leather
strung Mexican Amber I brought my wife perfectly
suits her personality, but I couldn't see it on
my mum, who better suits her Amber necklace.
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Baltic Amber
currently accounts for
more than 90
percent of the Amber
used in jewellery |
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With an estimated two-thirds of the world's
Amber reserves, Baltic Amber currently accounts
for more than 90 percent of the Amber used in
jewellery and other decorative arts. Baltic
Amber deposits are found in Denmark, Estonia,
Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland,
Russia, Sweden and Ukraine, and were formed
around 50 million years ago when resin from
forests in the Scandinavian Peninsula collected
in the area.
The heart of Baltic Amber is the Russian port of
Kaliningrad, formally the German city of
Koenigsberg. Teutonic Knights were based here
during the 15th century, ruthlessly controlling
the production of Amber in Europe and punishing
illicit collectors with the sharp blade of their
swords. Today, Kaliningrad is so synonymous with
Amber production that it is also known as the
Special Economic Zone 'Yantar' (янтарь, the
Russian word for Amber). Other Amber sources
include Mexico and the Dominican Republic, where
tropical Amber is found in the aptly named
'Amber Valley'.
Noble, serene, warm, elegant and ageless are
words frequently used to describe Amber's
undeniable character. Despite its old age and
unquestionable beauty, Amber is also one of
those gems that are remarkably affordable. This
puts Amber easily within the reach of collectors
that will continue to adore a gem that has been
coveted since time immemorial. |
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