Amber, genuine or not?

There are these three rules of thumb to help you in the market-place: real natural precious amber is not a mineral but the resin from certain trees that has been preserved or fossilized in sedimentary layers for billions of years. It is transparent or opaque in every shade and tint of yellow, greenish-brown and orange towards deep brown. Sometimes small insects or twigs are entirely embedded in it, which add to its value. Most of it comes from the Baltic coast area, some form Sicily, Burma and recently the Dominican Republic.

Testing for genuine amber is easier if your use untreated beads. Real amber is extremely light, it shatters easily and is inflammable and it will sink in water but float in brine (saturated salt solution). If your scrape a tiny amount with a penknife in a place where it cannot show, next to the hole, it should yield tiny splinters; if it throws up a shaving it is not amber. Look closely to see if someone else has already tried this test, them you may not need to perform the test yourself. Thirdly, the heat test: touch the inside edge of the hole with a heated needle of pinpoint, and smell it, for amber has a resinous incense-like fragrance, whereas plastic gives off acrid fumes. The method of trying to pick up tiny pieces of paper by attraction is not a good test, as many plastics have static electrical properties. Old necklaces of real amber may have original screw fasteners of amber to match, although matching plastic ones are now also made. Amber chippings can be recycled by being melted down and pressed by a patented Victorian Process. This reconstituted substance is called amberoid?which is not so breakable as amber and can be recognized by strata in it resembling cirrus clouds.

Although less popular, the transparent amber is actually more valuable, especially if is has inclusions or insects trapped inside. Any amber with insects or inclusions is more valuable than the plain amber. The opaque mustard yellows that are used in Bedouin, Tibetan and North African necklaces are also often other substances (such as copalusually displays cracks). As long as they are not misrepresented as authentic amber and the price is not astronomical it should not matter too much because they look spectacular.

J McGlothlin, Jewelry Designer. For information visit www.pearlturquoise.com or email ht@pearlturquoise.com
Article Source: The FREE Article Distribution Center

Hot Topics In Health

    How To Treat Sleep Deprivation Using CPAP

    Treating sleep deprivation using CPAP is considered as an effective treatment strategy. Sleep derivation is the condition in which the patient cannot experience a continuous sleep. It is considered to...

    Plantar Warts Explained

    Warts (including plantar warts) are a viral (verruca vulgaris) infection of the skin. They are contracted by coming in direct contact with the virus.

    If you've ever stepped barefoot into a locker ro...

    Is Lasik Surgery Covered By Insurance?

    Lasik surgery is an eye vision correction method that has been growing in popularity. Lasik surgery can greatly improve eyesight, eliminating the use of eye glasses or contact lenses. It's a relativel...

    How Much Does Laser Eye Surgery Typically Cost?

    The cost of laser eye surgery can vary greatly depending on the type of surgery to be performed, the patient's prescription, the equipment used, and the doctor or surgical provider in question. There ...

    Diet And Sperm Quality

    There comes a time in most committed relationships where couples decide that they want to bring a child into the world. Visions of chubby newborns dance in the heads of baby's mom and dad while hopes ...

    Anatomical Charts

    Anatomical Charts

    Human anatomical charts have been used since the 18th century for many purposes in the healthcare profession. Whether you're a surgeon, chiropractor, physical therapist, or masseus...

    Diet Soda; Is It Good Or Bad If You Are On A Diet?

    The debate over whether diet soda is a dieter's friend or a dieter's enemy seems to become more heated every day.

    One side is saying diet soda is a great beverage for people trying to lose weight an...

    Functional Food: Preventing Diseases and Promoting Pet Health

    Food and diet play an important role in health. Every day, research in fields such as epidemiology and nutritional biochemistry teach us more about this relationship. Through scientific investigation ...

    Mosquito Bites - Remedy And Repellents

    It's a nice summer day and you're relaxing in your yard. Suddenly, you feel something bite you. You may begin to itch, when another bite takes place, and then another. It's those pesky mosquitoes agai...

    A Brief History Of Hip Replacement Surgery

    Hip replacement is a medical procedure in which the hip joint is replaced by a synthetic implant. It is the most successful, cheapest and safest form of joint replacement surgery. The earliest recorde...

    A Practical 12-Month Organic Living Plan

    We can talk and think about something until cows fly!

    But it's what we actually DO, that matters; that creates results.

    If you've been thinking and talking about eating and using more organic prod...

    The True Cost Of Smoking, Literally.

    What would you and your partner do with 07,887.50? Spend it on cigarettes perhaps? Well, if you and your partner both smoke 60 cigarettes a day between you, and you both smoke for another 50 years, th...

Most Recent Health Supplements

Interesting Today:

Most Recent Health Blogs:

Releated to Health:

Health Links:

Health Health Rss feeds.