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About Amber

Thousands of years ago large tracts of forests in the Baltic Sea region began to seep globs of sticky resin! This aromatic resin oozed down the sides of trees, as well as filling internal fissures, trapping debris, such as seeds, leaves, feathers and insects. As geologic time progressed the forests were buried and the resin hardened into a soft, warm, golden gem, known as amber. Amber is the fossilized resin of ancient trees which forms through a natural polymerization of its original organic compounds. Most of the Baltic amber is thousands of years old.

The tradition of amber mining, production and distribution reach back as far as the Mesolithic Period and has an uninterrupted history, as it continues to our own generation. All the time this tradition as an important cultural component was functioning within all of the communities, societies and the nation states around the Baltic Sea.

The origin of amber is related with the legends of the peoples inhabiting the areas around the Baltic Sea, but it also has its nearly three thousand year long literary tradition, reflecting the ages - a long process of investigations, leading from mystery to knowledge.

Amber in medicine

In ancient Rome, amber was used as medicine and as a protection against different diseases. Calistratus (?) a famous physician of those times, wrote that amber protects from madness, whilst the powder of amber mixed with honey cures throat, ear and eye diseases and taken with water is able to cure stomach illnesses.

Pliny the Younger noted that Roman peasant women wore amber medallions not only as adornments, but also as a remedy for "swollen glands and sore throat and palate."

Persian scientist Ibn Sina (Avicenna) called amber a remedy for many diseases. There was a belief in Eastern countries that amber smoke strengthens the human spirit and gives courage. In China "amber syrup", a mixture of succinct acid and opium, was used as a tranquilizer and antispasmodic.

In the Middle Ages amber beads were even worn for the treatment of jaundice. It was believed that the magic force of this yellow stone could absorb unhealthy yellowness of the skin and the weakness of the organism. Terms Oleum succini (amber oil), Balsamum succini (amber balsam), Extractum succini (amber extract) were often used in the recipes and records of the alchemists of those times.

Prussian duke Albrecht decided to follow the recipe of a Roman physician and sent a piece of amber to Luther as a remedy for stone disease.

As could be seen from legends and myths Prussians and Samogitians also used amber in the manufacture of incenses. In former times Lithuanian tribes employed such incense to drive away evil spirits from the dead and help the soul travel to good spirits. The newly born babies were fumigated so that they could grow faster, the newly-weds - that they could live happily and those going to war so that they could return with spoils of victory.

Before World War I amber was still used for treatment of various diseases, for example, tincture made of pieces of amber and vodka was thought to increase sexual potency of men. In Lithuania and in tsarist Russia nannies had to wear amber beads to protect themselves and babies from diseases. As late as before World War II, especially in Germany, amber beads were put on babies to make the process of teething less painful and to help make the teeth grow stronger.

Even now in Lithuania many women suffering from goitre purchase curative amber beads made of unpolished pieces of amber to wear around the neck. At least nobody would be able contradict the fact that amber beads collect an electrostatic charge when touched and the oxidized surface contains the highest amount of succinct acid. It is a biostimulant that has a positive effect on the nervous system, the heart, and the kidneys and stimulates the body’s recovery processes.

How to recognize real Baltic amber?

Recently, some controversy has arisen on whether some recent discoveries in South America and other parts of the world should be named amber or copal (which is tree resin which has not yet fully fossilized to amber and may be anything from 3 to 4 million years old). Some plastic imitations of amber have also become available on the market.

There are a number of simple tests that can be made on amber to verify its authenticity. Other tests are available but they require laboratory equipment to carry them out. Here are several tests that can be performed on an amber piece:

- First of all, amber possesses a hardness on Moh’s scale in the region of 2 -3. An appropriate scratch stick will help in determining the number for each piece.

- If a needlepoint is heated up in a flame until it is glowing red, and then pushed the point into the sample for testing amber can be identified from copal. With copal the needle melts the material quicker than amber and omits a light odour. Amber does not melt. Heating amber will soften it and eventually it will burn. Heated rather below 200°C, amber suffers decomposition, yielding an "oil of amber", and leaving a black residue.

- Solubility of the piece may be tested, as copal will dissolve in acetone, while amber will remain unaffected when acetone is applied.

- When passed through a short-wave Ultra Violet (UV) light, copal will show very little colour change, while amber will fluoresce a pale shade of blue.

- When the specimen tested is rubbed vigorously on a soft cloth, it will reveal whether it is amber or copal. Amber may omit a faint resinous fragrance while copal may actually begin to soften and become sticky. Amber will become heavily charged with static electricity.

- Tasting the amber is another way of knowing if it is authentic. After washing the amber in soapy water and then plain water, if the piece is made from plastic or other chemicals, it will have a very unpleasant and chemical taste. Amber does not have a particular taste at all.

- Mixing 23 grams of table salt with 200ml of lukewarm water and stirring until dissolved, and later placing amber in this mixture, will result in amber floating. Copal and other various plastics will typically sink.

- Finally, amber has inclusions of animals and plants. Correctly identifying the trapped flora or fauna will serve as an excellent indicator of the piece’s authenticity. Most of the amber pieces have species that are now extinct, or that have significantly adapted to the new environment. Amber frequently has stellate hairs that are released by oak buds in their early growth.

- When placing a piece of amber between two sheets of polarizing glass or plastic, you can then rotate one of the lenses slowly in 360 degrees. In the amber’s body, there will be a rainbow of colours that should cycle through the transparent parts of the material. This is due to interference patterns that are induced in the polarized light because of strains and stresses within the amber itself. Both Copal and Amber will show this colour change, while other polymers and plastics will not.

- Taking a sharp knife to shave off a tiny piece of the amber will also help as proof. Real amber fractures and splinters, while plastic and polymers cut can be removed without splintering the piece.