Amber is a gemstone. But is it really? Very few people know that amber is actually a fossil resin. Nowadays its use in the jewelry industry is widely spread and everyone considers it a precious stone. amber jewelry is very popular because it looks amazing and it doesn’t cost as much as diamonds or other precious stones. The effect it creates is magnificent especially if it has something trapped inside it, something like a small butterfly or a fragment of a leaf. Usually amber has a yellow-orange color, but it can be seen in a whole variety of colors like: red, white, brown and even green and blue. The color depends on the type of tree that produces the resin. It is usually formed from the resin of coniferous trees. The green colored stone is just a variation of the brown one, resulting form the interaction of plants with the resin. Green amber is much more valuable than brown.

Amber jewelry has known it’s beginnings in ancient Greece and it is probably one of the first stones used for decorative purposes. In a time when diamonds, rubies or amethysts weren’t that important, a small brown transfused stone become an object of great appreciation. Its color and form together with its powers attracted the human eye. Old scholars were amazed by its capacity of carrying negative electrical charge and those which did not understand amber gave birth to superstitions and myths regarding it.

In the past, people were fascinated by the amber’s capacity of acquiring electrical charge by friction. Thales of Miletus was the first who recorded this and suggested the word “electricity”. Amber was then called electron. This name was given to the stone around the year 600 B.C. Since then it has had a lot of names: electrum, hashmal, `inbar, bernstein. It is supposed amber has been around since the Neolithic and the biggest source of resin was near the Baltic Sea. Amber jewelry didn’t fall too much behind. It has been mentioned in old writings by Homer, Aristotle, Plato and others. Amber jewelry was even found in tombs form Mycenaean Greece. Succinite is the most common type of amber, but there are a lot of other varieties: gedanite, stantienite, beckerite, glessite, krantzite, allignite, roumanite, simetite, burmite. All of these types have common features, but they are indeed different through composition, color and texture.

Amber jewelry is very appreciated by the jewel makers because amber is a lot softer than other stones. This allows the jewelers to shape the stone easier thus giving it any wanted shape. Jewelry experts considered the stones with inclusions not perfect and did not regard amber very well because of the small insects, leaves and bark that were trapped inside it. The jewelers thought that these things compromised the beauty of the stone, but because it became a popular gem among non-scientists without prejudices, amber started to make people curious. They finally saw beauty in something that until then was considered disgraceful. Nowadays jewelers try to expose as much as possible the inclusions in the stone whenever they make amber jewelry.

Prices on amber jewelry can range from nothing to a truck load of money. It all depends on the buyer’s preferences. So, if you don’t care about the metal used for amber jewelry and if you choose, let’s say silver for example, then the item won’t be that pricey. However, if you want your amber jewelry to be crafted in gold or platinum with a stone that’s one of the best, then you’ll have to dig a little deeper in your pockets. The stones are very important in amber jewelry. Sometimes the gem itself can cost more than the metal used for that specific piece of jewelry. The green stone is very valuable because of the way it was made by nature, therefore it also costs more, but the most valuable and pricey is the clear and transparent stone, especially if it’s flawless.

Amber jewelry isn’t valuable just because of it good looks. Since the oldest times, it has been attributed magical powers and people believed they could draw positive energy and strength from it. Today, even though it isn’t considered an official birthstone, it has been associated with those born under the sign of the Taurus. Wearing amber jewelry is supposed to make people feel joyful and happy. The bright yellow stone is thought to have amazing powers being able to lighten the heavy burdens of life or even help people realize, to the full extent, the powers of their spiritual intellect. In conclusion, wearing a piece of amber jewelry doesn’t only help the image. By wearing all sorts of amber jewelry pieces (pendants, rings, bracelets, necklaces, cufflinks and earrings), the way people feel, spiritually speaking, can change from good to better.

Over the years amber has been called a lot of ways. The finest poetical words being used to describe it were “frozen gold” and “slice of sunshine” and, even though one might not believe in its magical powers, its beauty is undeniable. Amber jewelry is incredible and very person who enjoys wearing something amazing should own a piece.

E-mail: customerservice@excelsiorplanet.org