Color:
Amber can vary in color from yellow to red, from green to blue, but amber's
color is usually honey brown. The best commercial amber is transparent, but some
varieties are cloudy.
Sometimes insects or pieces of earth, leaves, pine needles and inclusions of
small plant and animal fossils are present in the amber.
Description: Amber is a fossilized tree resin of now-extinct conifer
trees and ancient pine trees. It is an amorphous hydrocarbon and may contain
particles of various foreign materials, trapped insects, and air bubbles. Its
luster is greasy to resinous. The resin must be several million years old to be
called amber. Recently hardened resins are called copals.
The name's origin: Amber derives its name from Middle English ambre, from
Middle French, from Medieval Latin ambra, from Arabic anbar ambergris.
Care and treatment: As amber is soft, it can be easily scratched. Be
certain to store amber jewelry separately from your other jewelry.
From the stone history: Amber is treasured and used for centuries in
jewelry. It was familiar to Paleolithic peoples and to the Greeks and Romans,
who used it extensively in jewelry.
Amber has been used for decoration since the stone age. Amber is perhaps the
oldest substance used for human adornment. Amber beads and pendants were found
in Northern Europe gravesites dating back to 8000 B.C.E.
Jurassic Park made amber famous! The book and the movie used the idea that amber
containing an ancient mosquito might be the key to recreating dinosaurs. The
basic goal was to remove blood from the gut of a mosquito which had fed on a
dinosaur just before being trapped in tree resin which later became amber.
Shopping guide: Amber is one of the most popular stones collected today.
Amber with special markings such as the initials of ones name is a great
protective talisman.
Nowadays amber is used in the manufacture of beads, amulets, mouthpieces, cigar
and cigarette holders, pipes, and other small ornamental objects.
Be ware of plastic, glass, synthetic resin and other natural resins amber
imitations.
Healing ability: Amber is excellent for eyes, and for glandular swellings
of the throat and lungs. Amber balances endocrine and digestive network.
Mystical power: Amber brings good luck.
It is associated with time, cycles and longevity. Amber is also regarded as
being highly sensual and magnetic. Amber insures very long enjoyment of the
qualities that make the wearer attractive. Amber has long been associated with
healing energy and mental stimulation, and is said to balance aggressive traits.
Deposits: The most famous source of the world's amber is the Baltic coast
of Germany. Amber is also found off the coasts of Sicily and England and in
Myanmar (Burma). In the Western Hemisphere, there are rich deposits in the
Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the state of New Jersey. An especially rich bed
of amber in New Jersey has yielded over 100 previously unknown extinct
Cretaceous species dating back as much as 94 million years. Because of amber's
preservative qualities, the DNA of the specimens trapped inside is intact,
affording scientists a unique opportunity to study the DNA of extinct species.
Scent
of amber and amber perfumery
In ancient China it was customary to burn amber during large festivities. If
amber is heated under the right conditions, Oil of Amber is produced, and in
past times this was combined carefully with nitric acid to create
"artificial musk" - a resin with a peculiar musky odor. Although when
burned, amber does give off a characteristic "pinewood" fragrance,
modern products, such as perfume, do not normally use actual amber. This is due
to the fact that fossilized amber produces very little scent. In perfumery,
scents referred to as “amber” are often created and patented to emulate the
opulent golden warmth of the fossil. The modern name for amber is thought to
come from the Arabic word, ambar, meaning ambergris. Ambergris is the waxy
aromatic substance created in the intestines of sperm whales and was used in
making perfumes both in ancient times as well as modern. The scent of amber was
originally derived from emulating the scent of Ambergris and/or labdanum but due
to the endangered status of the sperm whale the scent of amber is now largely
derived from labdanum The term “amber” is loosely used to describe a scent
that is warm, musky, rich and honey-like, and also somewhat oriental and earthy.
It can be synthetically created or derived from natural resins. When derived
from natural resins it is most often created out of labdanum. Benzoin is usually
part of the recipe. Vanilla and cloves are sometimes used to enhance the aroma.
