Hér má finna ýmsar upplýsingar um amber (á ensku)
Amber is and was appreciated for its beauty and color for thousands of years. This substance is a fossilized resin, which comes from ancient trees. Resin is formed when trees exclude it through cuts and breaks. It is thought that trees produce this resin in order to protect themselves from diseases and enhance the healing of broken branches; however, there are different opinions about its purpose in plants.
When this substance is released from the tree within time its starts to harden. In most cases, excluded resin falls into the ground and stays buried near the base of the tree where it hardens for many years.
If this resin is younger than two thousand years it is quite commonly referred to as Copal. Copal is quite similar to true Amber; however, it is still quite soft and not fully fossilized. Due to this jewelry makers prefer true Amber and not Copal. Even though Copal turns into Amber over time this process takes many thousands of years.
Even though Amber comes in many different colors the most common one is yellow-honey.
It is also worthwhile to mention that quite commonly Amber also contains insects or plants inside, which greatly increases its demand. This type of Amber is quite useful for scientists since it gives a hint about plants and insects that were living many thousand years ago.
It is worthwhile to mention that Amber is not just a substance for making jewelry, but also it is thought to have therapeutical and healing powers. These properties were known throughout history. In fact, Greeks and Romans believed that Amber can not only promote health but also that it has the capacity to draw misfortune and evil spirits away from the people.
The main reason why it is thought that Amber has healing and health benefits is that it contains Succinic Acid. This acid is what provides Amber with healing, immunity enhancing, anti-inflammatory, stress, and pain relief properties.
The fact that absorbed Succinic Acid is beneficial for our health is proven by scientific research.
In case you are interested in Amber for its health benefits, it is best to choose jewelry that is made from raw Amber. This is because raw Amber contains the highest amount of Succinite acid.
When natural amber jewelry is close to the skin, created warmth helps to release succinic acid, and then it is absorbed into our bloodstream.
Amber necklace is a natural and popular remedy in Europe for teething babies.
These teething necklaces can be worn by both girls and boys from 3 months age to 2 years age. This age is usually when teething begins and ends.
When an infant wears this necklace it provides relief from pain and other symptoms associated with teething so you might not need stronger medications. Since this necklace is worn near the skin it makes amber warm, which causes oils to be released. This effect provides babies with benefits like calmness and relaxation.
For safety reasons these necklaces are made in specific lengths (~32 cm) so that they wouldn’t fit in the baby’s mouth. Even though these necklaces are generally safe to wear it is recommended to let your child wear it only when he/she is supervised in order to avoid any accidents.
Babies are not the only ones who can benefit from wearing Amber. Adults choose to wear jewelry made from this natural resin not only because they are beautiful and unique in appearance, but also because it can provide them with some health benefits.
In case you are wearing amber for health purposes, it is important to choose jewelry that would provide the most benefits for specific medical conditions.
If you want to get relief from pain in areas like the neck, head, and throat it is best to wear a necklace.
In case you want to minimize the pain of arthritis, joints, or rheumatism it is best to choose a bracelet.
Some additional benefits of wearing Amber jewelry for adults are that it can help minimize anxiety and eliminate fatigue.
To get all of these mentioned benefits it is important to wear amber jewelry for as long as possible and so that it would be in contact with your skin for a longer time.
Since Amber is found in different locations of the world it is also quite commonly divided into types based on its location.
Some of the most popular locations that mine Amber commercially are the Dominican Republic and the Baltic Sea country’s (Lithuania, Poland, and Russia). Baltic Amber is usually 50 million years old and Dominican Amber is approximately 14-40 million years so the first type is much older. You should know that all jewelry and supplies that are offered on our website are made only from true and genuine Baltic Amber.
When buying Amber or its jewelry it is important to pay attention to this substance’s origin. This is because there are quite a lot of plastic imitations and also you can end up purchasing Copal, which is only a couple of thousands years.
Different Colors of Amber
There is no single answer to the question of what color is Amber. This is because this natural resin comes in many different shades. This is another very fascinating fact about this natural gemstone. Up until today there are more than 250 different shades and 7 main colors of Amber identified. They vary from yellow to orange and even white. Green and blue colors are also distinguished; however they tend to be very rare. All of these mentioned colors are commonly used when making jewelry.
There are two main factors, which are known to influence Amber’s color. One of these factors is bubble inclusions that are found in this natural resin. The main explanation why these bubbles affect color of Amber is because they block light that goes through this gemstone. These small disturbances in lighting is what cause Amber to form in different colors. The second main factor that determines color of this natural resin is the tree source. Research on fossil resin indicates that some colors are found only in certain tress. It is also worthwhile to mention that color of this gemstone can be modified by either dyeing or heating it.
This color of Amber is the most typical one since about 70% of this natural resin comes in it.
This color can look like brownish too.
Usually yellow color of this natural resin is found in Baltic Sea region and it is valued by most individuals due to high quality of Amber.
How light or dark yellow color of Amber is depends on the number of gas bubbles found in this gemstone. The higher the number of bubbles the lighter shade of yellow Amber will be.
Green accounts for about 2% of all Amber and it is very popular among people.
The supply of this color is quite big in the market and usually the price depends on how deep the shade of green is in the stone. Yellow-green color tends to be less expensive and deeper green is more expensive.
It is worthwhile to mention that not all green Amber is found naturally since this color is quite commonly created by heating Yellow Amber.
Since this color tends to be more visible when it is combined with silver many jewelry makers combine green Amber with Silver Sterling.
Throughout the history some people believed that this color of Amber has the capacity to bring immortality and good luck.
This color of Amber is also quite commonly referred to as Cherry.
It is worthwhile to mention that Cherry color of this gemstone is very rarely natural (only about 2-3%). In most cases it is developed by exposing Amber to very high temperature.
Raw beads are usually preferred over polished since they tend to look more naturally.
Based on archaeological findings red color Amber rings were worn by rich people in Ancient times since they are found in historic graves. Since this color of Amber was hard to find many years ago too only very wealthy people were able to afford it.
Today it is not too difficult to find Cherry Amber & jewelry made from it and it is also not too expensive.
This type of Amber is considered to be the rarest shade found and due to this it is valued very highly. Today only very little amounts of this natural resin are found in this color so it is almost impossible to find where to buy it from.
If you would go looking for Amber only about 0.2% of it would come in blue color.
One unique feature of this color is that Amber stone should be hold in the right lighting in order to see blue shade or otherwise it will look like it is brown or yellow.
You should also know that blue Amber contain fluorescents inside, which can turn into very bright blue color when it is exposed to fluorescent light.
It is also worthwhile to mention that it is mostly found in the Dominican Republic and rarely in Baltic region.
In ancient times it was believed that Amber, which comes in blue color, can help to control spirits of air, fire and water as well as get blessings from gods. Due to this, this type of Amber was preferred by Chief Priests.
This color accounts for about 15% of all Amber found naturally.
One unique thing about this color of Amber is that it is not fully fossilized resin. This color was formed when tree resin was mixed with soil, debris or some other inclusions.
If you would hold any piece of black Amber against light you would soon notice that it is actually another color. Usually it is either brown or dark red. Due to this some people even claim that Amber in black color does not even exist.
How to maintain & take care of amber jewelry
Do you ever wonder of how to take of the jewelry you have? It’s obvious that every specific material and gemstone needs a different way of care and treatment.
Baltic amber is a fossilized tree resin formed 50 million years ago. As every gemstone, amber has it’s own characteristics and properties.
It’s one of the world’s oldest and prettiest semi-stones which has been trough a lot of weather and nature conditions and changes. Even though amber counts million of years, it’s also delicate and fragile.
If you own a piece of amber jewelry, it’s important to know how to take care of it to keep it in perfect shape and condition. There are some tips and tricks for you to keep you amber jewelry in perfect shape for years.
This might surprise you, but sunlight can change the way your amber jewelry looks.
Amber is sensitive to sunlight and heat, therefore it’s the best if you leave your amber jewelry at home when going sunbathing to the heat or planning to expose yourself to the sun a lot.
Amber is not only sensitive to the sunlight, but heat and cold too.
A hot summer day might not harm your amber jewelry, but you should consider taking it off before going to hot shower or sauna.
Extreme cold conditions can negatively affect the way your amber jewelry looks as well.
It’s the best way to keep amber jewelry in separate box from other jewelry and metals so they don’t interact with each other what can cause chemical reaction within amber or other gemstones and materials.
There are some chemicals that might damage and cause cracks in you amber jewelry.
Do not spray your perfume or hairspray where your amber necklace, earrings or ring are or do it before you put your amber jewelry on.
It also applies the chemicals you use to clean your house, car etc. Certain chemicals might dull the polish of the amber or cause white coating.
It’s also a good idea not to wear amber jewelry while cooking or doing other household activity that includes certain chemicals, humidity etc.
Amber is a pretty sensitive and delicate gemstone which needs a regular cleaning and treatment to stay pretty.
It is recommended to clean it after every time you wear it, but if it’s not possible, try to clean it regularly.
Cleaning amber does not take much time or effort. Simply cleaning it with warm water (not too hot) with a cloth is enough.
Dry it with dry cloth afterwards.
Do not use chemicals. You can apply natural soap or shampoo to make your amber jewelry smell better especially when it comes to amber pet collars which can get a bad smell after a long use.
It is also crucial to polish your amber accessories from time to time.
To keep the fresh look and shininess, you can use pretty much any kind of oil, for instance olive oil or amber oil.
All you need it’s just few drops of oil applied to the jewelry.
Dry it with dry cloth afterwards.
How to tell if Amber is genuine or fake?
Since Amber has a few unique features there are a few different tests that you can do in order to find out if its real or not. Many people want to be sure that they are buying jewelry made from real Baltic Amber because other types or fakes doesn’t contain Succinic Acid, which is responsible for health benefits of this jewelry. The most common methods for testing this natural resin are listed bellow.
Before choosing one of these tests it is important to keep in mind that some of them might leave marks or ruin your Amber gemstone. So if you are testing expensive Amber stone or jewelry it might be a good idea to pay attention to this and choose safer tests.
One of the first things you can do when testing Amber and jewelry made from it is to test it visually.
Real Amber beads tend to be unique in their appearance so you should look for imperfections when inspecting them. Some common imperfections are tiny cracks or small air bubbles. Also beads should vary a little in size and its shape shouldn’t be always round.
When you touch Amber it tends to be a little warm, which is not the case with most other fakes.
The other effective test for identifying real Amber from fake is Salt Water test.
In order to do this test you will need about 7 teaspoons of salt and a medium size cup of water. Add all teaspoons of salt into the water and stir well until salt is fully melted. In the next step add your Amber gemstone into this water.
Real Amber should float in this water easily while majority of fakes will sink fast.
The main drawback of this method is that it is not very suitable for testing Jewelry that has some metal or other components in it, however it works well for loose beads.
One of the simplest ways to distinguish Amber from Copal is to do Rubbing test. Since real Amber has electrostatic properties it can pick up tiny paper pieces or dust when it is charged sufficiently.
So in order to charge Amber you need to wrap it in a cloth and then rub it for some time (20-60 seconds).
In the next step hold this gemstone near a strand of hair. If your hair is attracted towards this stone it means that static was produced and most likely you are holding real Amber.
Alternatively if this gemstone didn’t became charged but rather sticky it means that it is Copal.
One more way to differentiate genuine Amber from fake is Hot Needle test.
To perform this test you need to heat the needle and then push it against the stone.
In case the needle went in only slightly or some cracks were left it means that it is most likely real Amber. Also if it is genuine Amber you should also notice a smell similar old punged tree.
When doing the same test with fakes the needle goes in very easily and the smell is either plastic or fresh pine (Copal).
The main disadvantage of this test is that it might leave a small mark, which is caused by burning.
Scratch test is usually preferred when not expensive Amber is being tested. This is mainly because scratching on this gemstone can potentially damage it.
Doing this test can help to separate colored glass from Amber. This test is useful because glass beads can’t be scratched while using metal and real Amber is soft enough so its beads can be scratched on.
So basically if you can scratch on your jewelry bead it is most likely Amber and if you are not able to do this then its probably a fake.This test might be a bit too difficult for individuals who are not very familiar with this natural resin. This is mainly because you need to know how the difference between smell of Copal and Baltic Amber.
Scent of true Baltic Amber tends to be stronger than compared with Copal.
And in case you are dealing with other type of fake you should smell plastic smell once a bead is heated.
Are Teething Necklaces Safe?
Most makers of Amber baby necklaces do what they can to ensure maximum safety for children who wears them. Despite that, it is important to supervise children at all times when they wear them to avoid any accidents. Due to this, it is best to remove Amber jewelry from a baby when she/he is sleeping. All quality teething necklaces on the market today have their Amber beads knotted from both sides. This guarantees that in case a necklace is broken only one bead will be able to fall off and your child will not be surrounded by tons of beads. Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to mention that these necklaces are not very easily broken so a child would need to have a lot of force to do that. So when buying Amber teething jewelry make sure that it has beads knotted from both sides.
It is also worthwhile to mention that teething necklaces might have two main types of clasps (Pop-up or with a screw). Both of them have their own benefits and drawbacks so there is no clear answer, which one is better and safer. As the name suggests Pop-up clasps make necklaces made of Amber pop off easily when pressure is applied. So in case a necklace will become caught on something it will pop off quickly and will not pose a strangling hazard. Necklaces with screw clasps require more force to be taken off so there is very little possibility that a child will be able to take it off on his/her own. So to conclude this it can be said that Amber necklaces are safe; however, they should be treated as any jewelry and children shouldn’t wear them without adult supervision.
The other name that pop clasp is called is safety clasp.
The difference from the screw clasp is that they are pushed together rather than being screwed together.
The pop clasp is made to release quickly after light tension. Pop clasp for children teething jewelry are regulated by European Union requirements
are significantly reduced choke hazard comparing to typical teething necklace with screw clasp. European Union also requires that the string of the teething necklace or bracelet is strong enough so it will not break using the tension which is smaller than 90 newtons.
The each amber bead ought to be individually knotted by the string. The most common and quality assured thread is TYTAN-10. The am
ber beads in the teething necklace is supposed to be rounded to prevent skin irritation. The European Union laws regulate the sale of teething jewelry and require to sell children teething jewelry with pop clasps only.
