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How to Care for your Amber
Amber is one of the few precious minerals that
it is actually good and easy to handle. The oils from one's skin help to
prevent its oxidation.
Over the years, amber does age. Often the outer
surface will react with oxygen and form what is called a "crazing". This
is a series of small surface cracks. It appears rather like someone has
dropped the amber and surface and because of this is honeycombed with
shallow numerous cracks. Yes, the cracks can be polished away (along
with 3 or 4 millimeters of the surface.) In addition, amber can darken
with age. Old amber generally will take on a reddish tint. This is also
thought to have something to do with oxidation of the amber. Many people
favor the reddish tint to the amber. Actually the reddish tint tends to
increase the value of the amber.
How To Stop or Slow Down this Process?
As stated with the first sentence of this subject - you can handle the
amber. Don't just keep the amber in a drawer. The natural oils from your
skin (you have more oils on your skin than you think) will coat the
amber and slow the oxidation process. If your piece of amber is a
pendant, it is all the better to wear it.
The Turtle Wax Trick
There is a trick that many amber dealers use - Turtle Wax. The car wax
called Turtle Wax (or really any similar soft silicon car wax) does a
great job. Once or twice a year, a thin layer of Turtle Wax and a quick
buff (yep, like your car) does wonders! This puts a coat of silicon on
the amber that does a super job of stopping the surface from slowly
reacting with the air. You know how water beads up on a newly waxed car?
This is analogous to how oxygen behaves with a newly waxed piece of
amber. A piece of amber treated this way will actually out live you in
brightness and durability.
There are other ways of treating amber for preservation. For Baltic
amber (and also for Dominican amber) there is the lacquer method. Now a
word of caution is noted here. You may not want to try this one. The
lacquer method is a well known way of preserving fossils in amber. The
amber is dipped in polyurethane lacquer, and air dried. The
freshly-dipped specimen is then hung to dry, via the fishing line. After
two days, this solution dries hard and clear, nearly impossible to
detect. The fishing line is not completely removed: a nib of it is left
attached to the stone, denoting that the stone has been "protected".
This can be especially useful in preserving inclusions where maybe part
of the inclusion touches the surface of the piece.
Important Tips for Caring for your Amber:
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Never store amber where it may rub against hard surfaces such
as metal or other jewelry. Please note that other pieces of jewelry
may scratch or chip it. Best is to store your amber jewelry in a
soft cloth. This also helps prevents silver settings from
tarnishing.
-
Do not expose amber to harsh chemicals such as soap,
detergents, ultrasonic cleaners, jewelry cleaners, perfumes, and
hair products.
-
Do not expose amber to direct sunshine or heat.
-
To clean your amber wash in lukewarm water. Use a soft cloth
to wash and dry. To restore the shine polish with pure olive oil.
-
Apply cosmetics, perfume, and hairspray before donning your jewelry;
exposure to chemicals can ruin the finish of your amber
permanently.
Amber Inclusions: Pieces of Ancient History!
The preservation of ancient life in amber has fascinated
civilization through ages and this mystical phenomenon still attracts
people to get to know more about amber and even and hold in hand and
wear - a piece of history that is so ancient. Amber is really an
exquisite preservation of ancient life within its golden tomb. Perhaps
amber was an inspiration for the Pharaohs to build the Great Pyramids?
Read
more...
History of Amber
Amber has a long history since the ancient times. Most
older and previously discovered amber deposits were in
Europe and you will still see today ho widely amber is
used and cherished in Europe. Amber has been traded
since earliest times and was considered a mystic and
religious material. Over the "amber routes" it was
distributed throughout Europe and to the entire known
ancient world... Read
more...
History of Amber Jewelry
The earliest known use of worked amber beads by man was
between 7,000 and 11,000 BC in Denmark and southern
England. Amber beads have been found in Egyptian tombs
dating to 3,400 BC. It has also been found in Mycenaean
(Greece) tombs. By the Bronze Age (3,000 to 1,000 BC),
there was significant trade of the gemstone throughout
the region of the Baltic Sea. As early as 600 BC...
Read
more...
Historical Amber Trade & Amber Route
The amber trade is ancient. Scientists presume that the trade in amber
started as early as in New Stone Age. Baltic amber beads were found in
3400-2400 BC pharaoh tombs in Tethys pyramid. German archaeologist
Heinrich Schliemann who in 1871-1890 excavated Troy in addition to other
artifacts found amber beads....
Read more...
Types of Amber
Amber can be classified by number of parameters such as
chemical composition, color and way of formation,
production method. The following classification is by
chemical composition. Amber can be classified based
on chemical composition usually into two fossil resins:
succinite and retinite. Succinite
is the common variety of European amber. Baltic amber or
succinite was once thought to be the only "true" amber
and is the most suitable for jewelry...
Read more...
Amber Myths, Lore and Facts
The evidence of amber being a precious substance that
was very much sought after, fought for and cherished
goes back to 3,400 B.C. There have been many lore and
myths about amber and many of them are most prevalent in
Europe today. People believe amber to be...
Read more...
Amber in Medicine
History has documented medicinal uses of amber. A lot of
ancient text includes amazing mentions of the positives of amber
treatment. Amber has a unique charm and air of mystery surrounding it.
In nineteenth-century literature we find evidence of amber having been
used as a remedy for virtually all illnesses. The Etruscans prized it as
highly as gold...
Read more...
Real vs. Fake Amber
It is important to get to know amber well if you are
seeking one or better yet, depend on a source that is
authentic and reliable. In the middle of the 19th
century, scientists discovered ways to synthesize
natural precious substances. Due to the demand and the
price amber commanded in those days, additional
experiments and efforts to falsify amber picked up
pace...
Read more...
Back to 'All About Amber' Summary
Commonly referred to as tree sap, however amber is anything but sap! The
modern name for amber is thought to come from the Arabic word, amber,
meaning ambergris. In our "All About Amber" page, we have attempted to
provide interesting and useful information about what is amber, where it
comes from, the types of amber, amber fossil, how to tell fake from real
amber etc. It is important to know some easy tips to recognize amber
because not getting real amber could make a difference of few million
years! Visit these topics and enjoy reading on...
Read more...
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How To Care For Your Amber
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