Amber Jewelry Blog...

Tuesday 22nd May 2012 02:15:51 AM •

Society: Folklore

What is amber?

A common misconception with Amber is that it is tree sap; it is actually fossilised resin from ancient forests. The tree resin is exuded for a number of reasons such as protection for an injury to the tree, protection against biological or insect attack etc. The resin has then hardened and been preserved in the earths crust. Although Amber is regarded as a gem it is actually an organic substance that does not have the organic matter replaced by minerals. Pieces of amber are not cold and hard like most other gems. I have seen it described as 'organic plastic' to try and describe its weight and texture. Whilst I understand this description I think it takes away from the mystery and romance of this gem. Amber is also sometimes known as Succinite.

What are the different colours?

The huge variety of colours and the uniqueness of every piece is partly what makes this gem so popular. There are over 250 identified shades. The differing shades are due to the kind of tree the resin came from, the inclusions, the age of the amber and also the area in the world it comes from. Although amber deposits can be found all over the world there are only approximately 20 where it can be commercially mined.

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What are Inclusions in Amber

Inclusions are small objects which become embedded in the resin prior to it hardening and are part of what makes this gem truly fascinating. It was the very inclusion of a mosquito in a piece of amber that started the fictional theme park 'Jurassic Park' and it was at this point that Amber became more popular and fascinating to a wider audience in modern day. Because of this tree resin it means that anyone can own something that is millions of years old. This is part of its charm and romance.

A variety of small animals have been caught in these resin 'traps' such as fleas, ticks, millipedes and mosquitoes as well as items like seeds, roots, spores and Lichen. What I personally find the most fascinating are the ones that got away! Pieces of amber have been found with animal paw prints and have, on rare occasions, contained a few hairs or feathers from animals that have fled from its sticky clutches. All of these inclusions have enabled scientists to build an accurate picture of some of the plants and animals these forest contained and build more accurate pictures of earth in those times.

Amber From the Baltic.

The class of organic gemstones is quite small, but includes some unusual varieties which are important in the gem trade, including pearl, coral, ivory and amber. All the organic gems are rather unusual, but none more than amber. Amber is the fossilized hardened resin of the pine tree, Pinus succinifera, formed mainly in the Eocene epoch of the Tertiary period, about 50 million years ago. Amber has been used since prehistoric times for jewelry, amulets and religious objects. The most prized pieces contain inclusions of insects or plants or pyrites.

Yellow, orange and brown are the most common colors for amber, though rare blue amber is found in the Dominican Republic. The term "amber" has entered the English language as the color that is halfway between yellow and orange. The clarity of natural amber ranges from transparent to opaque. Most pieces have bubbles or inclusions. When polished amber has a resinous luster.

Unlike most gemstones, amber is amorphous rather than crystalline. It is fairly soft, with a rating of 2-2.5 on the Mohs hardness scale. While it is durable enough to have survived for millions of years, it is sensitive to acids, caustic solutions, gasoline, alcohol and perfume. It will burn if ignited by a match, releasing an incense-like odor.

One of the most unique characteristics of amber is that it is exceptionally light. It has a density or specific gravity of only 1.05 to 1.09. Amber is so light that it will float in salt water. Amber's low density makes it difficult to imitate with glass or plastic, which have much higher densities. By way of comparison, the total volume of a 5 carat piece of amber is 2.5 times the volume of a 5 carat piece of zircon (one of the denser gem materials).
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What has Amber been used for?

Currently Amber is enjoying a resurgence in its popularity as a gem that can make truly unique and beautiful jewelry, but has had many varied uses in the past.

The Romans used it in coins amongst other things.
A variety of religious objects including rosaries.
Amber attracts lint with static electricity when rubbed.
In the past it is thought to protect the wearer from kidnapping and aging and keep evil spirits away.
Cure for a variety of conditions such as headaches and rheumatic pain and enhance fertility.
Amber brings the wearer good luck in a variety of situations from going to war to getting married.
Often used as grave goods for a variety of reasons.
Thrown into fires to release aromatic fragrances.

Amber has always been popular and its use can be traced back to Neolithic times. The uniqueness of the gem has inspired different cultures throughout history to marvel, wonder and sometimes kill for it. We have always loved Amber and so it was only fitting that the first web site we set-up was to sell Amber Jewelry. The article is drawn from many years of reading about amber to satisfy our curiosity. My sister and I hope this will be the first of many articles on this fascinating topic. Please visit our site http://newamberjewelry.com/home to see if you agree with us regarding the diversity of this gem.

American Folklife Center, Library of Congress - Created by Congress in 1976 "to preserve and present American Folklife," the Center incorporates the Archive of Folk Culture, established at the Library in 1928 as a repository for American Folk Music.
Archer Taylor - Wolfgang Mieder's biographical sketch of the University of California Professor of Folklore Archer Taylor, and his work as a paremiologist - collector of proverbs.
Archives of Folklore Discussion List - Hosts a complete month-by-month record of all the posts made to the discussion-list, from 1990 to the present.
At the Edge: The Cosmic Mill - Article by Alby Stone discussing the hand-mill as an image of the cosmos.
Basque Folklore - Essays and links.
British Columbia Folklore Society - A definition and explanation of folklore, with examples.
D. L. Ashliman - Folklore researcher, providing extensive resources on Germanic myths, legends and sagas, and Indo-European folk and fairy tales.
Folk Beliefs in Modern Japan - E-text of the book edited by Inoue Nobutaka, Institute for Japanese Culture and Classics, Kokugakuin University.
Folklore Studies Association of Canada - Educational, non-profit association founded in June 1976 for the purpose of increasing education and research in the field of folklore studies in all its aspects.
Folklore: an Online Electronic Journal - English-language archives of an informative Baltic Folklore journal published by the Folk Belief and Media Group of the Estonian Literary Museum. Material about Estonian shamanism, urban legends, ethnomusicology, popular calendar data, and general folk belief.
Journal of Folklore Research - A peer-reviewed publication of the Folklore Institute at Indiana University, established in 1965.
Lucky W Amulet Archive - Encyclopedic resource describing and illustrating folkloric talismans and lucky charms from around the world, including horseshoe, swastika, four-leaf clover, rabbit foot, raccoon penis bone, hamsa hand, John the Conqueror root, scarab beetle, and black cat bone.
New York Folklore Society - Definitions of folklore and the related terms folklife and folk arts.
Paganism in British Folk Customs by Bob Trubshaw - Article that contrasts the true remains of Pagan origins in the folk customs of England with those customs created or exaggerated through "paganisation" by Victorian romantic authors.
Pro Ethnologia - Journal of the Estonian National Museum, publishing short articles on ethnographical issues. Content in Estonian and English.
Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage - Focuses on contemporary grassroots cultures. Festival information, recordings, events, and resources.
Superstitions Around the World - A compilation of superstitions and taboos around from variety of cultures.
The Folklore of the Isle of Man - Myths, legends, superstitions, customs and proverbs, by A. W. Moore (1891), e-text from a Manx Note Book.
Visions and Beliefs in the West of Ireland - Collected and arranged by Lady Augusta Gregory (1920), e-text from the Internet Sacred Text Archive.