GEMSTONES

Amber


FOREVER AMBER
The gem that traps history
Amber is the golden gem of the ages.  This fossilized resin of prehistoric trees was formed 30 to 50 million years ago.  It is recovered from the stratified layers of marine sediments turned to sedimentary rocks.  Trees wounded by fires produce healing resin to bandage the wounds.  The resin would spill down to the ground picking up everything in its path from botanical flora to tiny animals.  Then, after burial by sediments and the passage of millions of years, the resin slowly fossilized.

When studied today by paleozologists and paleobotanists, amber with inclusions yields a great deal of information about the evolution of some plants and small animals, such as ants.  Also trapped in amber were bubbles which contained gases that gave strong clues as to the earth’s atmosphere at the time the amber was formed.  Most of it was found in the Baltic region.
Amber goes as far back as 5000 B.C.  It regained its popularity between 1895 and 1920, second only to diamond in U.S. imports at that time.  The popularity of amber resurged with the movie “Jurassic Park.” 

Special Care:  the softness of amber requires that you avoid repolishing, harsh chemicals and ultrasonics.